Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

A United States federal statute honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and his work in the civil rights movement with a federal holiday was enacted by the 98th United States Congress and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on November 2, 1983, creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The final vote in the House of Representatives on August 2, 1983 was 338–90 (242–4 in the House Democratic Caucus and 89–77 in the House Republican Conference) with 5 members voting present or abstaining,[1] while the final vote in the Senate on October 19, 1983 was 78–22 (41–4 in the Senate Democratic Caucus and 37–18 in the Senate Republican Conference),[2][3] both veto-proof margins.

Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Long titleA bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to make the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a legal public holiday.
Enacted bythe 98th United States Congress
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to make the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a legal public holiday. (H.R. 3706) by Katie Hall (DIN) on July 29, 1983
  • Committee consideration by Post Office and Civil Service
  • Passed the House on August 2, 1983 ()
  • Passed the Senate as the "A bill to amend title 5, United States Code, to make the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a legal public holiday." on October 19, 1983 ()
  • Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on November 2, 1983

Prior to 1983 there had been multiple attempts following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. to have a holiday created in his honor with Representative John Conyers introducing legislation in every legislative session from 1968 to 1983.[4] In 1979 a vote was held on legislation that would have created a holiday on the third Monday in January, but it failed to receive two-thirds support and was later rescinded following an amendment changing its date.

While attempts were made to have a federally recognized holiday, numerous U.S. states recognized holidays in honor of King. Connecticut did so in 1973. Illinois adopted a commemoration day in 1969, and made it a paid holiday also in 1973. Other states continued to adopt state holidays up through Utah in 2000.

History

Prior attempts

United States House of Representatives vote on the bill
United States Senate vote on the bill

During the 90th Session of Congress following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, Senator Edward Brooke and Representatives John Conyers and Charles Samuel Joelson introduced multiple bills that would create a holiday to honor King on either January 15 or April 4, but none of their bills went to a vote.[5][6]

In 1971, Ralph Abernathy, the second president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a close friend of King, submitted multiple petitions to Senator Adlai Stevenson III asking for a national holiday honoring King on his birthday to be created.[7] On February 10, 1971, Senators George McGovern and Jacob Javits introduced a bill in the Senate to recognize King's birthday as a national holiday and issued a joint statement in support of it, but the bill failed to advance.[8] In September 1972, Representative Conyers introduced another bill in the House along with 23 co-sponsors; this was approved by the House Judiciary committee but was not voted on by the full House.[9][10]

On September 28, 1979, Representative Conyers introduced another bill to create a federal holiday in honor of King, and on October 19, Representative John Joseph Cavanaugh III stated that the U.S. House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service was planning to report the bill to the House floor.[11][12] On October 23, the bill was reported to the House floor, but Conyers later had the bill delayed on October 30 as he felt that the bill would not reach the two-thirds vote needed for passage, without the addition of amendments that could weaken the bill.[13][14] Representative Robert Garcia served as the floor manager of the bill and on November 13, the House voted 253 to 133 in favor of the bill, falling short of the two-thirds vote needed for passage.[15][16] The House voted to amend the bill to move the date of the holiday from Monday to Sunday by a vote of 207 to 191 on December 6, but the bill was rescinded by its sponsors and the Congressional Black Caucus later criticized President Jimmy Carter for not being supportive enough of the bill.[17]

Passage

On July 29, 1983, Representative Katie Hall introduced a bill to recognize the third Monday in January as a federal holiday in honor of King.[18] On August 2, the House voted 338 to 90 in favor of the bill, passing it on to the Senate.[19] During the Senate deliberation on the bill, Senator Jesse Helms attempted to add amendments to kill the bill and distributed a 400-page FBI report on King describing him as a communist and subversive, leading Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan to throw the report on the ground and refer to it as garbage.[20][21] Senator Ted Kennedy accused Helms of making false and inaccurate statements, causing Helms to attempt to have Kennedy punished for a violation of rules that prohibit senators from questioning each other's honor. Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker only made Kennedy replace the word "inaccurate".[22] The Senate rejected an attempt to kill the vote by a vote of 76 to 12 on October 18 and later approved the bill by a vote of 78 to 22 on October 19.[23] President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law on November 2, 1983, and on January 20, 1986, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.

Congressional vote

1979 U.S. House vote:[24] Party Total votes
Democratic Republican
Yes 213 40 253  (58.3%)
No 33 100 133  (30.6%)
Not Voting 30 18 48  (11.1%)
Vacant 0 0 1
Result: Failed
Vote By Members
Roll call votes on the 1979 Martin Luther King Jr. Day vote
RepresentativeSeatVote
Don YoungNo
Jack EdwardsNo
William Louis DickinsonNo
Bill NicholsNo
Tom BevillYes
Ronnie FlippoNo
John Hall Buchanan Jr.Not voting
Richard ShelbyYes
William Vollie Alexander Jr.Yes
Ed BethuneYes
John Paul HammerschmidtYes
Beryl Anthony Jr.Yes
John Jacob RhodesYes
Mo UdallYes
Bob StumpNo
Eldon RuddNo
Harold T. JohnsonYes
Donald H. ClausenYes
Bob MatsuiYes
Vic FazioYes
John BurtonNot voting
Phillip BurtonYes
George MillerYes
Ron DellumsYes
Pete StarkNot voting
Don EdwardsYes
William RoyerNo
Pete McCloskeyNot voting
Norman MinetaYes
Norman D. ShumwayNo
Tony CoelhoNot voting
Leon PanettaYes
Chip PashayanNot voting
Bill ThomasNo
Robert J. LagomarsinoNo
Barry Goldwater Jr.Not voting
James C. CormanYes
Carlos MoorheadNo
Anthony BeilensonNo
Henry WaxmanYes
Edward R. RoybalYes
John H. RousselotNo
Bob DornanNo
Julian DixonYes
Augustus HawkinsYes
George E. DanielsonYes
Charles H. WilsonYes
Glenn M. AndersonYes
Wayne R. GrishamNo
Dan LungrenNo
James F. LloydYes
George Brown Jr.Yes
Jerry LewisNo
Jerry M. PattersonYes
William E. DannemeyerNo
Robert BadhamNo
Bob WilsonYes
Lionel Van DeerlinYes
Clair BurgenerNo
Pat SchroederNot voting
Tim WirthYes
Ray KogovsekYes
James Paul JohnsonNot voting
Ken KramerNo
William R. CotterYes
Chris DoddYes
Robert GiaimoYes
Stewart McKinneyYes
William R. RatchfordYes
Toby MoffettYes
Earl HuttoNot voting
Don FuquaNot voting
Charles E. BennettNo
Bill ChappellYes
Richard KellyNo
Bill YoungNo
Sam GibbonsYes
Andy IrelandYes
Bill NelsonYes
Skip BafalisNo
Dan MicaYes
Edward J. StackYes
William LehmanYes
Claude PepperYes
Dante FascellYes
Ronald 'Bo' GinnYes
Dawson MathisYes
Jack BrinkleyNo
Elliott H. LevitasYes
Wyche FowlerYes
Newt GingrichYes
Larry McDonaldNo
Billy Lee EvansYes
Ed JenkinsNo
Doug Barnard Jr.Not voting
Thomas B. Evans Jr.Yes
Cecil HeftelYes
Daniel AkakaYes
Jim LeachYes
Tom TaukeNo
Chuck GrassleyNo
Neal Edward SmithYes
Tom HarkinYes
Berkley BedellNo
Steve SymmsNo
George V. HansenNo
Bennett StewartYes
Morgan F. MurphyYes
Marty RussoYes
Ed DerwinskiNo
John G. FaryYes
Henry HydeYes
Cardiss CollinsYes
Dan RostenkowskiYes
Sidney R. YatesYes
VacantVacant
Frank AnnunzioYes
Phil CraneNot voting
Robert McCloryYes
John N. ErlenbornNo
Tom CorcoranNo
John B. AndersonNot voting
George M. O'BrienNo
Robert H. MichelNot voting
Tom RailsbackYes
Paul FindleyNo
Edward Rell MadiganNo
Dan CraneNo
Melvin PriceYes
Paul SimonYes
Adam Benjamin Jr.Yes
Floyd FithianYes
John BrademasYes
Dan QuayleYes
Elwood HillisYes
David W. EvansNo
John T. MyersNo
H. Joel DeckardYes
Lee H. HamiltonYes
Phillip SharpYes
Andrew Jacobs Jr.Yes
Keith SebeliusNot voting
James Edmund JeffriesNo
Larry WinnNo
Dan GlickmanYes
Bob WhittakerNo
Carroll HubbardYes
William NatcherYes
Romano MazzoliNot voting
Gene SnyderNo
Tim Lee CarterNo
Larry J. HopkinsYes
Carl D. PerkinsYes
Bob LivingstonNo
Lindy BoggsNot voting
Dave TreenNot voting
Buddy LeachYes
Jerry HuckabyYes
Henson MooreNo
John BreauxNot voting
Gillis William LongYes
Silvio O. ConteYes
Edward BolandYes
Joseph D. EarlyYes
Robert DrinanYes
James ShannonYes
Nicholas MavroulesYes
Ed MarkeyYes
Tip O'NeillNot voting
Joe MoakleyYes
Margaret HecklerNot voting
Brian J. DonnellyYes
Gerry StuddsYes
Robert BaumanNo
Clarence LongYes
Barbara MikulskiNot voting
Marjorie HoltNo
Gladys SpellmanYes
Beverly ByronYes
Parren MitchellYes
Michael D. BarnesYes
David F. EmeryYes
Olympia SnoweNot voting
John ConyersYes
Carl PursellYes
Howard WolpeYes
David StockmanNot voting
Harold S. SawyerNo
Milton Robert CarrYes
Dale KildeeYes
J. Bob TraxlerYes
Guy Vander JagtYes
Donald J. AlbostaNot voting
Robert William DavisNo
David BoniorYes
Charles DiggsYes
Lucien NedziNo
William D. FordYes
John DingellYes
William M. BrodheadYes
James BlanchardYes
William BroomfieldNo
Arlen ErdahlNo
Tom HagedornNo
Bill FrenzelNo
Bruce VentoYes
Martin Olav SaboYes
Rick NolanYes
Arlan StangelandNo
Jim OberstarYes
Bill ClayYes
Robert A. YoungYes
Dick GephardtNot voting
Ike SkeltonYes
Richard Walker BollingYes
Tom ColemanNot voting
Gene TaylorNo
Richard Howard Ichord Jr.No
Harold VolkmerYes
Bill BurlisonYes
Jamie WhittenNot voting
David R. BowenNot voting
Sonny MontgomeryNo
Jon HinsonNo
Trent LottNo
Pat WilliamsYes
Ron MarleneeNo
Walter B. Jones Sr.Not voting
Lawrence H. FountainYes
Charles Orville WhitleyYes
Ike Franklin AndrewsYes
Stephen L. NealYes
L. Richardson PreyerYes
Charlie RoseYes
Bill HefnerYes
James G. MartinNo
Jim BroyhillNo
V. Lamar GudgerYes
Mark AndrewsNo
Doug BereuterNo
John Joseph Cavanaugh IIIYes
Virginia D. SmithNo
Norman D'AmoursYes
James Colgate ClevelandNot voting
James FlorioYes
William J. HughesYes
James J. HowardYes
Frank ThompsonYes
Millicent FenwickNot voting
Edwin B. ForsytheNo
Andrew MaguireYes
Robert A. RoeYes
Harold C. HollenbeckYes
Peter W. RodinoYes
Joseph MinishYes
Matthew John RinaldoYes
Jim CourterNo
Frank Joseph GuariniYes
Edward J. PattenYes
Manuel Lujan Jr.No
Harold L. RunnelsNo
James David SantiniYes
William CarneyNo
Thomas DowneyYes
Jerome AmbroYes
Norman F. LentYes
John W. WydlerNo
Lester L. WolffYes
Joseph P. AddabboYes
Benjamin Stanley RosenthalNot voting
Geraldine FerraroYes
Mario BiaggiYes
James H. ScheuerYes
Shirley ChisholmYes
Stephen SolarzYes
Fred RichmondYes
Leo C. ZeferettiYes
Elizabeth HoltzmanNot voting
John M. MurphyYes
Bill GreenYes
Charles RangelYes
Theodore S. WeissYes
Robert GarciaYes
Jonathan Brewster BinghamYes
Peter A. PeyserYes
Richard OttingerYes
Hamilton Fish IVYes
Benjamin GilmanYes
Matthew F. McHughYes
Samuel S. StrattonYes
Gerald SolomonYes
Robert C. McEwenNo
Donald J. MitchellYes
James M. HanleyYes
Gary A. LeeNot voting
Frank HortonYes
Barber ConableNo
John J. LaFalceNot voting
Henry J. NowakYes
Jack KempNot voting
Stan LundineYes
Bill GradisonNo
Tom LukenYes
Tony P. HallYes
Tennyson GuyerNo
Del LattaNo
Bill HarshaNo
Bud BrownYes
Tom KindnessNo
Thomas L. AshleyNot voting
Clarence E. MillerNo
J. William StantonYes
Samuel L. DevineNo
Donald J. PeaseYes
John F. SeiberlingYes
Chalmers WylieNo
Ralph RegulaNo
John M. AshbrookNo
Douglas ApplegateNo
Lyle WilliamsYes
Mary Rose OakarYes
Louis StokesYes
Charles VanikYes
Ronald M. MottlYes
James R. JonesYes
Mike SynarYes
Wes WatkinsNo
Tom SteedYes
Mickey EdwardsYes
Glenn EnglishNo
Les AuCoinYes
Al UllmanYes
Robert B. DuncanNo
Jim WeaverYes
Michael MyersYes
William H. Gray IIIYes
Raymond LedererYes
Charles F. DoughertyYes
Richard T. SchulzeNo
Gus YatronYes
Robert W. EdgarNot voting
Peter H. KostmayerNot voting
Bud ShusterNo
Joseph M. McDadeYes
Dan FloodNot voting
John MurthaYes
Lawrence CoughlinNo
William S. MoorheadNo
Donald L. RitterNo
Robert Smith WalkerNo
Allen E. ErtelYes
Doug WalgrenYes
William F. GoodlingNo
Joseph M. GaydosYes
Donald A. BaileyYes
Austin MurphyYes
William F. Clinger Jr.No
Marc L. MarksYes
Eugene AtkinsonYes
Fernand St. GermainYes
Edward BeardYes
Tom DaschleNo
James AbdnorNo
Mendel Jackson DavisYes
Floyd SpenceNo
Butler DerrickYes
Carroll A. Campbell Jr.No
Kenneth Lamar HollandNot voting
John JenretteYes
Jimmy QuillenNo
John Duncan Sr.Yes
Marilyn LloydYes
Al GoreYes
Bill BonerYes
Robin BeardNo
Ed JonesYes
Harold Ford Sr.Yes
Sam B. Hall Jr.No
Charlie WilsonNot voting
James M. CollinsNo
Ray RobertsNo
Jim MattoxNot voting
Phil GrammYes
Bill ArcherNo
Robert C. EckhardtYes
Jack BrooksYes
J. J. PickleYes
Marvin LeathNo
Jim WrightYes
Jack HightowerYes
Joseph P. Wyatt Jr.Yes
Kika de la GarzaNo
Richard Crawford WhiteNo
Charles StenholmNo
Mickey LelandYes
Kent HanceYes
Henry B. GonzálezYes
Tom LoefflerNo
Ron PaulNo
Abraham KazenYes
Martin FrostYes
K. Gunn McKayNo
David Daniel MarriottNo
Paul TribleYes
G. William WhitehurstNo
David E. Satterfield IIINo
Robert DanielNo
Dan DanielNo
M. Caldwell ButlerNo
J. Kenneth RobinsonNo
Herbert HarrisYes
William C. WamplerNo
Joseph L. FisherYes
Jim JeffordsNo
Joel PritchardYes
Al SwiftYes
Don BonkerNot voting
Mike McCormackNo
Tom FoleyYes
Norm DicksYes
Mike LowryYes
Les AspinYes
Robert KastenmeierYes
Alvin BaldusYes
Clement J. ZablockiNo
Henry S. ReussYes
Tom PetriNo
Dave ObeyYes
Toby RothNot voting
Jim SensenbrennerNo
Bob MollohanNo
Harley Orrin StaggersYes
John M. Slack Jr.No
Nick RahallNot voting
Dick CheneyYes
1983 U.S. House vote: Party Total votes
Democratic Republican
Yes 249 89 338  (77.9%)
No 13 77 90  (20.7%)
Not Voting 4 2 6  (1.4%)
Vacant 0 0 1
Result: Confirmed
1983 U.S. Senate vote: Party Total votes
Democratic Republican
Yes 41 37 78  (78%)
No 4 18 22  (22%)
Not Voting 0 0 0  (0%)
Vacant 0 0 0
Result: Confirmed
Vote By Members
Roll call votes on the 1983 Martin Luther King Jr. Day vote
SenatorStateVote
Ted StevensYes
Frank MurkowskiNo
Howell HeflinYes
Jeremiah DentonYes
David PryorYes
Dale BumpersYes
Dennis DeConciniYes
Barry GoldwaterNo
Alan CranstonYes
Pete WilsonYes
William L. ArmstrongYes
Gary HartYes
Chris DoddYes
Lowell WeickerYes
William RothYes
Joe BidenYes
Lawton ChilesYes
Paula HawkinsYes
Sam NunnYes
Mack MattinglyYes
Spark MatsunagaYes
Daniel InouyeYes
Roger JepsenNo
Chuck GrassleyNo
James A. McClureNo
Steve SymmsNo
Alan J. DixonYes
Charles H. PercyYes
Richard LugarYes
Dan QuayleYes
Nancy KassebaumYes
Bob DoleYes
Walter "Dee" HuddlestonYes
Wendell FordYes
J. Bennett JohnstonYes
Russell B. LongYes
Ted KennedyYes
Paul TsongasYes
George J. MitchellYes
William CohenYes
Paul SarbanesYes
Charles MathiasYes
Donald RiegleYes
Carl LevinYes
David DurenbergerYes
Rudy BoschwitzYes
John DanforthYes
Thomas EagletonYes
John C. StennisNo
Thad CochranYes
John MelcherYes
Max BaucusYes
Jesse HelmsNo
John Porter EastNo
Quentin BurdickYes
Mark AndrewsYes
Edward ZorinskyNo
J. James ExonNo
Gordon J. HumphreyNo
Warren RudmanNo
Frank LautenbergYes
Bill BradleyYes
Jeff BingamanYes
Pete DomeniciYes
Chic HechtNo
Paul LaxaltYes
Al D'AmatoYes
Daniel Patrick MoynihanYes
Howard MetzenbaumYes
John GlennYes
David BorenYes
Don NicklesNo
Mark HatfieldYes
Bob PackwoodYes
John HeinzYes
Arlen SpecterYes
John ChafeeYes
Claiborne PellYes
Strom ThurmondYes
Fritz HollingsYes
Larry PresslerNo
James AbdnorNo
Howard BakerYes
Jim SasserYes
John TowerNo
Lloyd BentsenYes
Orrin HatchNo
Jake GarnNo
Paul TribleYes
John WarnerYes
Robert StaffordYes
Patrick LeahyYes
Daniel J. EvansYes
Slade GortonYes
Bob KastenYes
William ProxmireYes
Robert ByrdYes
Jennings RandolphNo
Alan SimpsonYes
Malcolm WallopNo

Alabama

Governor George Wallace

In 1973 Coretta Scott King asked the Alabama Legislature to create a state holiday in her husband's memory on the second Monday in January and Representative Fred Gray, a former civil rights activist, submitted a law to create the holiday according to Coretta's wishes, but it was unsuccessful.[25] In January 1974 Hobson City, Alabama's first self-governed all-black municipality, recognized King's birthday as a town holiday.[26]

On December 22, 1980, the Montgomery County Commission voted 3 to 2 in favor of giving its employees a yearly holiday in honor of King. John Knight and Frank Bray were the first black people to serve on the commission after being inaugurated in November and voted in favor with Joel Barfoot while Mack McWhorter and Bill Joseph voted against it.[27] However, on January 5, 1981 the commission vote 4 to 1 in favor of changing it from a yearly holiday to a one-time observance.[28]

In February 1981 Governor Fob James sent his legislative program to the Alabama legislature which included a plan to decrease the amount of state holidays from 16 to 12, but would also give state employees the option of taking one day off for non-recognized state holidays that included King's birthday or the birthday of any other statesman.[29] On February 13, 1981 Representative Alvin Holmes introduced a bill to create a state holiday in honor of King, but nothing came of it.[30] On September 14 the Mobile County Commission approved a resolution to create a holiday in honor of King alongside an existing holiday honoring General Robert E. Lee with Douglas Wicks, the only black commissioner, submitting and supporting the bill and Jon Archer opposing it due to him favoring reducing the amount of county holidays.[31] In December the Montgomery County Commission voted 3 to 2 against giving county employees a paid holiday in honor of King with Joel Barfoot, Mack McWhorter, and Bill Joseph against it and John Knight and Frank Bray for it.[32]

In 1983 the all black Wilcox County Commission voted to give county employees a holiday for King's birthday while choosing to not observe Alabama's three Confederate holidays honoring Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Confederate Memorial Day as well as Washington's birthday and Columbus Day.[33] Representative Alvin Holmes created another bill that would combine Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis' birthday for a holiday in honor of King, but later submitted another bill that would only combine a holiday honoring King alongside Robert E. Lee.[34][35]

On October 21, 1983, Governor George Wallace announced that he supported Holmes' bill to combine Lee and King's birthday holidays.[36] The legislature didn't take action until 1984 when the Alabama House of Representatives voted unanimously in favor of the bill, passed the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee with all six members in favor, passed the Alabama Senate, and on May 8, 1984 Governor Wallace signed into law the bill recognizing Lee-King Day.[37][38][39][40]

Legislative votes
House votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No
1984 75 0 75
Senate votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No
1984 26 4 30

Alaska

On April 4, 1969, a resolution honoring King was submitted on the anniversary of his death, but the resolution was rejected by a vote of 10 to 8 in the Senate.[41] Following the federal recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day a bill was introduced in the Alaska legislature to recognize it on January 15, 1987 and on January 20 Governor Bill Sheffield declared it as a holiday.[42][43] However, state employees were still required to work on the day leading to a union lead lawsuit that was ruled in their favor and the state was ordered to give $500,000 to its employees for overtime pay.[44]

Vote by Members
1969 Senate Resolution vote
SenatorPartyVote
Nick BegichDemocraticYes
ChristiansenUnknownYes
JosephsonUnknownYes
MerdesUnknownYes
B. PhillipsUnknownYes
RaderUnknownYes
Elton Engstrom Jr.RepublicanYes
Keith Harvey MillerRepublicanYes
Lowell Thomas Jr.RepublicanYes
BlodgettUnknownNo
BradshawUnknownNo
John ButrovichRepublicanNo
HagglandUnknownNo
HarmondUnknownNo
KostoskyUnknownNo
LewisUnknownNo
PalmerUnknownNo
Kathryn PolandDemocraticNo
Bob ZieglerDemocraticNo
V. PhillipsUnknownAbsent

Arizona

On January 15, 1971, state Senator Cloves Campbell Sr. introduced a bill to recognize King's birthday as a state holiday, but it failed to advance.[45] In January 1975 a bill was introduced in the senate to recognize King's birthday as a state holiday, and passed the Government and Senate Rules Committees and was passed by the Arizona Senate, but was defeated in the Arizona House of Representatives.[46][47][48]

Governor Bruce Babbitt

In December 1985 Caryl Terrell asked Tempe's city council to recognize King Day, but it was rejected by the Finance and Personnel Procedures committees.[49] On January 18, 1986, 1,000 people marched from the University of Arizona to El Presidio Park to honor King and in support of the recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day along with members of Tucson's city council.[50] On January 20, 1986 5,000 people marched in support of King Day in Phoenix and heard speeches given by Mayor Terry Goddard and Governor Bruce Babbitt who criticized the state legislature for not declaring King's birthday as a state holiday.[51]

On February 7, 1986, the Government Senate Committee voted 4 to 3 in favor of advancing a bill that would create a state holiday in honor of King on the third Monday in January while derecognizing Washington and Lincoln's holidays.[52] On February 19 the senate voted 17 to 13 in favor, but Speaker of the House James Sossaman removed the bill from the agenda after multiple Republicans representatives complained about the bill.[53][54] The bill was brought back into the house's agenda, but Sossaman stated that it would most likely be defeated and on May 9, 1986 the house voted 30 to 29 against the bill.[55][56] On May 18 Governor Bruce Babbitt circumvented the state legislature and declared the third Monday of January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday via executive order although only executive office employees would receive a paid holiday.[57][58] However, Attorney General Robert K. Corbin stated that the governor did not have the power to declare state holidays and only the state legislature could do so although Babbitt stated that he would not rescind his proclamation and would only do so after a legal challenge.[59][60]

Proposition 300
Arizona Martin Luther King Jr. Day Amendment
Results
Response
Votes %
Yes 880,488 61.33%
No 555,189 38.67%
Valid votes 1,435,677 100.00%
Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00%
Total votes 1,435,677 100.00%

Source: Secretary of State of Arizona[61]

During the 1986 gubernatorial election former state senator Evan Mecham ran on a platform that included the removing of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day that was established via executive order by Governor Bruce Babbitt and narrowly won the election due to vote splitting between Democratic Carolyn Warner and William R. Schulz, who had initially run in the Democratic primary, but after dropping out and reentering was forced to run an independent campaign.[62][63]

On January 12, 1987, Mecham rescinded Babbitt's executive order causing Arizona to become the only state to de-recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day.[64] The following day presidential candidate and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson met with Mecham at a joint press conference after meeting for twenty minutes and asked him to reinstate the holiday, but Mecham refused and instead called for a referendum on the issue.[65] Later on January 19 10,000 people marched in Phoenix to the state capitol building in protest of the action.[66][67] On May 28, 1987, Norman Hill, president of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, gave a speech in Tucson at the state's AFL-CIO convention where he stated that unions should tell conventions to boycott Arizona and stated that Mecham's decision "caters to bigotry and encourages polarization (of the races)".[68] The de-recognition resulted in $20 million in tourist business being lost due to multiple organizations canceling their conventions in protest, although some, like the Young Democrats of America, kept their conventions in Arizona.[69]

On January 19, 1988, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5 to 4 in favor of sending a proposal that would let voters decide whether to create a paid holiday in honor of King on the third Monday in January or an unpaid holiday on a Sunday, but the bill was rejected in the Senate.[70][71] On April 4 Mecham was removed from office by the Senate after an impeachment trial for obstruction of justice and misuse of government funds. On April 14 the Senate Government Committee voted 5 to 4 in favor of a bill that would create a holiday in honor of King and combine Washington and Lincoln's holidays, but the Senate voteed 15 to 14 to reject the bill.[72][73]

Following the failure of the state legislature to pass a bill creating a state holiday for King, Governor Rose Mofford put forward three options that she would look into: issuing the same executive order Babbitt had issued, wait until after the elections to see if there would be a more friendly makeup towards a King holiday, or wait for a special legislative session to include a King holiday in the plan.[74] Mofford later stated that she would wait until after the elections to attempt to create a King holiday.[75] Due to the failure of the governor and state legislature to create the holiday, another movement to boycott Arizona was created with support from Jesse Jackson and Democratic delegates supporting it and planning to perform a demonstration outside of the Democratic National Convention.[76]

The Arizona Board of Regents voted unanimously on September 9, 1988 to create a paid King holiday at the three state universities that would give 20,000 of the state's 40,000 employees a paid holiday.[77] Arizona State University later chose to end its observation of President's Day and replaced it with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.[78]

On January 16, 1989, 8,000 people marched in Phoenix in support of the creation of a holiday in honor of King with Governor Rose Mofford, Mayor Terry Goddard, and House Minority Leader Art Hamilton speaking.[79] On February 2, the state house voted in favor of a bill creating a paid state holiday, but Senate President Bob Usdane did not take action on the bill until March 30 when he sent it to the Government Senate Committee where it died in committee.[80][81] Democratic members of the House included the creation of a holiday inside an economic development bill, but the Commerce Committee voted 7 to 6 to separate the bills.[82]

Another bill was created in the Senate that would end Arizona's observation of Columbus Day in favor of King Day and it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee with 6 to 3 in favor. The bill was passed by the Senate and House and signed by Governor Mofford on September 22, 1989.[83][84][85] However, on September 25 opponents of the holiday filed with the Secretary of State to collect signatures to force a referendum on the recently passed bill and submitted enough signatures in December.[86]

On March 13, 1990, the NFL had its annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, and one of the items on its agenda was to determine a host city for Super Bowl XXVII. Among the cities being considered was Tempe, and Arizona civil rights activist Art Mobley was sent to the meeting to make sure that the Arizona ballot initiative was a talking point at the discussion. The vote was conducted and Tempe was awarded the game, but committee chairman and Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman warned that if the King Day ballot initiative went against adoption of the holiday, the NFL would pull the game from Arizona and move it somewhere else.[87]

The bill eliminating Columbus Day was titled as Proposition 301 and another bill was passed by the legislature that would combine Washington and Lincoln's Birthdays and create a King Day was titled as Proposition 302. On November 6, 1990, both referendums were defeated with Proposition 301 being defeated in a landslide due to more effort being spent on Proposition 302 which was narrowly defeated by 50.83% to 49.17%. In March 1991 the house and senate passed a bill that would place a referendum on the creation of a King state holiday onto the 1992 ballot in an attempt to keep the Super Bowl in Arizona.[88] On March 19, 1991, NFL owners voted to remove the 1993 Super Bowl from Phoenix due to the rejection of both referendums. It was estimated that the state lost at least $200 million in revenue from Super Bowl lodging and $30 million from the numerous convention boycotts.[89] On November 3, 1992, Proposition 300 was passed with 61.33% to 38.67% and Super Bowl XXX was later held in Tempe, Arizona in 1996.

Legislative votes
House votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1986 29 30 1 60
1989 35 24 1 60
1989[lower-alpha 1] 37 21 2 60
1991 40 11 9 60
Senate votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1975 16 13 1 30
1986 17 13 0 30
1988 14 15 1 30
1989[lower-alpha 2] 17 11 2 30
1991 25 4 1 30
Vote by Members
1988 Senate vote[90]
SenatorPartyVote
John HaysRepublicanNo
Tony GabaldonDemocraticYes
James Henderson Jr.DemocraticYes
Bill HardtDemocraticYes
Jones OsbornDemocraticYes
Alan StephensDemocraticYes
Peter RiosDemocraticYes
Carol MacdonaldRepublicanNo
Jeff HillRepublicanNo
Jesus HigueraDemocraticYes
Jaime GutierrezDemocraticYes
John MawhinneyRepublicanNo
Greg LunnRepublicanYes
Bill De LongRepublicanNo
Hal RunyanRepublicanNot voting
Wayne StumpRepublicanNo
Pat WrightRepublicanNo
Tony WestRepublicanYes
Jan BrewerRepublicanNo
Lela AlstonDemocraticYes
Carl KunasekRepublicanNo
Manuel PeñaDemocraticYes
Carolyn WalkerDemocraticYes
Pete CorpsteinRepublicanNo
Jacque SteinerRepublicanYes
Peter KayRepublicanNo
Doug ToddRepublicanNo
Robert UsdaneRepublicanNo
Jack TaylorRepublicanNo
Jamie SossamanRepublicanNo
Referendum Results
1990 Proposition 301 Results[91]
Choice Votes Percentage
No 768,763 75.36%
Yes 251,308 24.64%
Totals 1,020,071 100.00%
1990 Proposition 302 Results
Choice Votes Percentage
No 535,151 50.83%
Yes 517,682 49.17%
Totals 1,052,833 100.00%
1992 Proposition 300 Results
Choice Votes Percentage
Yes 880,488 61.33%
No 555,189 38.67%
Totals 1,435,677 100.00%

Arkansas

In February 1983 the House and the Senate before being signed into law by Governor Bill Clinton allowing state employees to choose to take a holiday off on Martin Luther King Jr., Robert E. Lee, or their own birthday.[92][93] In 1985 the state legislature voted to combine King and Lee's birthdays and stayed combined until March 14, 2017 when Governor Asa Hutchinson signed a bill separating the holidays.[94]

Legislative votes
House votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1991 66 11 23 100

Connecticut

Governor Thomas Meskill

In 1971 a bill to recognized King's birthday as a holiday was passed by both the Connecticut House of Representatives and Connecticut Senate, but was vetoed by Governor Thomas Meskill, who had initially supported the bill, citing the cost of having another paid holiday with it being around $1.3 million.[95][96][97] The bill was reintroduced by Representative Irving J. Stolberg in 1972 and it passed in the senate again, but was defeated in the House.[98][99] In 1973 Governor Meskill issued a proclamation recognizing King's birthday and Representative Maragaret Morton, the first black women in the state's assembly, later introduced a bill to create a holiday in honor of King, but it was shelved by the General Law Committee as they felt that Meskill would veto it again.[100][101][102]

Supporters of the King holiday created a petition and in February 1973 it had received enough signatures from legislators to force public hearings on a bill for the holiday. Although the law initially put forward by the petition failed, an amended version passed the house 124 to 17 in favor and the senate with unanimity, and Governor Meskill signed it into law on June 14, 1973, making Connecticut the first state to recognize a holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.[103][104][105][106]

On March 4, 1976, Governor Ella Grasso stated that she would support moving the holiday from the second Sunday to January 15. The house and senate both passed a bill to change the holiday's date and make it a paid holiday, and on May 4, 1976, Grasso signed the bill making Martin Luther King Jr. Day fall on January 15 and as a paid holiday for Connecticut's 40,000 state employees.[107][108][109][110]

Legislative votes
House votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No
1971 97 41 138
1972 56 86 142
1973 124 17 141
1976 121 24 145
Senate votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No
1971 25 9 34
1972 17 16 33
1976 32 4 36

Illinois

Illinois representative, Harold Washington

In 1969 Harold Washington, then a state representative from the 26th district, introduced a bill to create a holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.[111] On April 9, 1969 the House executive committee voted to advance the bill, both state legislative chambers voted in favor of the bill and Governor Richard B. Ogilvie signed the bill creating a commemorative holiday in honor of King that would allow school services to be held in his honor.[112][113][114]

In 1970 Representative Washington proposed a bill to make the commemorative holiday a paid legal holiday but was unsuccessful. In 1971 Washington reintroduced the bill and it passed the house with 121 to 15 in favor and the senate with 37 to 7 in favor, but was vetoed by Governor Ogilvie.[115][116][117] In 1972 the Chicago Public Schools system started to observe King's birthday.[118]

In January 1973 Washington, Susan Catania, and Peggy Martin reintroduced the bill in the House along with Senator Cecil A. Partee.[119] On April 4, 1973, the Illinois House of Representatives voted 114 to 15 in favor of the bill, the Illinois Senate later voted in favor of it as well, and on September 17, 1973 Governor Dan Walker signed the bill.[120][121]

Kentucky

Governor Wendell Ford

On January 15, 1971, Mayor Leonard Reid Rogers of Knoxville declared a holiday in honor of King in the city.[122] In February 1972 state Senator Georgia Davis Powers introduced a bill that would create a state holiday in honor of King, but it did not make it through the committee although they told Davis to offer an amendment to a holiday bill currently in the legislature.[123][124] However, Davis was absent when the bill came to the senate, but was able to offer an amendment to another holiday bill although the bill was defeated after her amendment passed.[125][126]

On January 15, 1974, Powers and state Representative Mae Street Kidd proposed bills to create a state holiday in honor of King and both bills passed through each chambers' committees.[127][128] The Kentucky Senate and Kentucky House of Representatives passed the bill and on April 1, 1974 Governor Wendell Ford signed it into law which recognized King Day as a state holiday.[129][130][131] Although the King holiday was not officially paired with Robert E. Lee Day both days would occasionally fall on the same day whenever the third Monday in January was on the 19th.[132]

In 1975 Governor Julian Carroll declared the first King Day in Kentucky, but state employees were not given the day off with Carroll citing an economic crisis as the reason.[133]

Legislative votes
House votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No
1974 50 6 56
Senate votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No
1974 30 1 31

Maine

On February 13, 1986, a bill to create a paid holiday in honor of King was defeated in the house, but was later modified to make it optional and passed the Maine Senate and Maine House of Representatives before being signed by Governor Joseph E. Brennan and going into effect on July 16, 1986.[134][135][136]

Legislative votes
House votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1986 77 61 13 151
Senate votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1986 24 5 6 35

Massachusetts

In 1974 members of the Massachusetts Black Caucus introduced a bill to recognize Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a state holiday, but it died in committee.[137] However, the bill was revived by state Senator Joseph F. Timilty who changed it to a half-holiday that would allow businesses to stay open, but governmental offices would close.[138] The bill passed both the House and Senate before being signed into law by Governor Francis Sargent on July 8, 1974.[139][140]

Legislative votes
House votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1974 160 53 27 240

Missouri

On January 7, 1971, Mayor Alfonso J. Cervantes of St. Louis signed into law a bill that would create a city holiday in honor of Martin Luther King on January 15.[141]

New Hampshire

On February 11, 1999, Jesse Jackson spoke in Portsmouth where he stated that he was considering a presidential run and asked for New Hampshire to recognize a state holiday in honor of King.[142] On April 8, 1999 the Senate voted in favor of a bill renaming Civil Rights Day to Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Day and was later passed by the House before being signed by Governor Jeanne Shaheen on June 7.[143]

Legislative votes
House votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1999 212 148 40 400
Senate votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1987 19 5 0 24

North Dakota

In 1985 Governor George A. Sinner appointed a commission to coordinate the state's federal observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but state employees were not given the day off.[144] In 1987 a bill was introduced to recognize it as a state holiday and was passed by the House and Senate before being signed by Governor Sinner on March 13, 1987.[145][146][147]

Legislative votes
House votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1987 64 39 3 106
Senate votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1987 27 26 0 53

Ohio

On January 14, 1975 Cincinnati's city council recognized a city holiday in honor of King and approved a resolution in support of a statewide holiday bill created by state Senator Bill Bowen.[148] Bowen's bill passed the Senate and House before being signed into law by Governor Jim Rhodes on May 2, 1975.[149][150][151]

Legislative votes
House votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1975 57 33 9 99
Senate votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1987 24 5 4 33

Wyoming

In 1973 state Representative Rodger McDaniel introduced a bill that would create a holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., but nothing became of the bill.[152] In 1986 another bill creating a King holiday was introduced by state Representative Elizabeth Byrd, but on February 21 it was rejected.[153]

In 1989 Governor Mike Sullivan signed an executive order that would have Wyoming observe a holiday in honor of King only for 1990.[154] On January 2, 1990 the Albany County Commission voted to observe King Day for only 1990.[155]

In 1990 another bill creating a holiday in honor of King that would end Wyoming's observation of Columbus Day was introduced. An attempt to change its name from Martin Luther King Jr. Day to Wyoming Equality Day was defeated by a vote of 32 to 29 although it was later renamed as Martin Luther King, Jr./Wyoming Equality Day as a compromise to allow it to pass.[156][157][158] The bill passed the House and Senate and on March 15, 1990 Governor Sullivan signed the bill into law.[159][160][161]

Legislative votes
House votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1990 48 16 0 64
Senate votes: Vote Total votes
Yes No Not voting
1990 21 9 0 30

Timeline

Timeline of Passage of Martin Luther King Jr. Day
YearStateActionPercent of states
April 4, 1968Death of Martin Luther King Jr.0.00%
June 18, 1971Vetoed0.00%
September 28, 1971Vetoed0.00%
June 14, 1973Recognized2.00%
September 17, 1973Recognized4.00%
April 1, 1974Recognized6.00%
July 8, 1974Recognized8.00%
1975Recognized10.00%
May 2, 1975Recognized12.00%
May 4, 1976Amended date and paid12.00%
1977Recognized14.00%
1977Recognized16.00%
1977Recognized18.00%
1978Recognized20.00%
1978Recognized22.00%
1978Recognized24.00%
1979Recognized26.00%
1982Recognized28.00%
1983Recognized30.00%
March 7, 1983Recognized32.00%
1983Recognized34.00%
1983Recognized36.00%
November 2, 1983Recognized Federal Holiday to begin in 198636.00%
1984Recognized38.00%
1984Recognized40.00%
1984Recognized42.00%
1984Recognized44.00%
1984Recognized46.00%
1984Recognized48.00%
May 8, 1984Recognized50.00%
1985Recognized52.00%
1985Recognized54.00%
1985Recognized56.00%
1985Recognized58.00%
1985Recognized60.00%
1985Recognized62.00%
1986Recognized64.00%
1986Recognized66.00%
May 18, 1986Recognized68.00%
July 16, 1986Recognized70.00%
1987Recognized72.00%
1987Recognized74.00%
1987Recognized76.00%
January 12, 1987Derecognized74.00%
January 20, 1987Recognized76.00%
March 13, 1987Recognized78.00%
1987Recognized80.00%
1988Recognized82.00%
1988Recognized84.00%
1989Recognized86.00%
1990Recognized88.00%
1990Recognized90.00%
March 15, 1990Recognized92.00%
November 6, 1990Referendum92.00%
November 6, 1990Referendum92.00%
1991Recognized94.00%
November 3, 1992Referendum96.00%
June 7, 1999Recognized98.00%
2000Recognized100.00%
March 14, 2017Separated holidays100.00%

Notes

  1. Bill eliminating Columbus Day.
  2. Bill eliminating Columbus Day.

References

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  2. "TO PASS H.R. 3706. (MOTION PASSED) SEE NOTE(S) 19".
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  156. "House vote restores King's name onto bill". Casper Star-Tribune. March 9, 1990. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  157. "'Equality Day' added to title". Casper Star-Tribune. March 10, 1990. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
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