King Holiday Deserves a Full Celebration
Nearly 22 years ago, after a tumultuous 15-year battle in Congress, a fiercely reluctant President Reagan signed into law the bill that made Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a national holiday. He acted only after it was clear that the legislation would pass with or without his backing.
Reagan bought North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms' oft-shouted view that King was not just a noisy racial agitator but also had communist leanings. Reagan had barely signed the bill when he was asked about those charges. The Gipper couldn't resist a sly aside, "We'll know in about 35 years." He was referring to the contents of FBI surveillance tapes on King that a court had ordered sealed until 2027.
Reagan's quip, Helms' rabid opposition and the long fight in Congress sent the not-so-subtle message that King really didn't merit a national holiday. Legions of state legislators, local officials and business leaders instantly took the cue. Although the King holiday is an officially declared public holiday, a study last year by BNA Inc., a Washington-based business news publisher, found that more than 40% of state and local public agencies kept their doors open on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
And opposition to a King holiday is even deeper and more persistent among businesses. According to the BNA survey, fewer than three out of 10 give their workers the day off. Barely one-quarter of smaller, nonunionized companies grant workers the day off. By contrast, about half of U.S. firms give their employees a day off on Presidents Day -- after King's birthday, the least-observed of U.S. holidays.
The prime business argument against the holiday is money -- granting workers a holiday is estimated to cost businesses billions of dollars. This is a valid argument, particularly for smaller companies. But even if the expense were not a factor, many private businesses, public agencies and millions of Americans still probably wouldn't bother commemorating the day.
Why not? Most citizens probably don't agree with the Reagan-Helms idea that King was a communist, but they know he was controversial -- in memory as in life, he needles us.
