Talk:Martin Luther King Jr. Day/Archive 2

Canada
It is inaccurate to state that Martin Luther King Day is a "de facto" holiday in Canada. This is simply a regular business day. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.46.8.88 (talk) 21:10, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

Special:Contributions/Anon (talk) 14:59, 17 January 2011 (UTC) Agreed it is inaccurate, I mean it's on official calanders as a holiday, but it is not a stat or forced in any shape or form by the gov't. It is simply just another business day up there with Green/Turn off the lights Day. As much as Canada respects MLK Jr, he is an american and not celebrated quite to the degree in canada that the US does, so no stat pay for Torontians ;-)

Virginia
"The incongruous nature of the holiday, which simultaneously celebrated the lives of Confederate Army generals and a civil rights icon, did not escape the notice of Virginia lawmakers."

Apparently it DID escape notice when they passed it in the first place. That sentence makes it sound like the Virginia lawmakers "stumbled" across this inanity instead of creating it in the first place. Are there newspaper articles about what happened to pressure them to change it?

On a similar token, the state of Alabama joins Martin Luther King Jr day with Robert E Lee day. It celebrates BOTH holidays on January 21rst. This can be viewed at the state of Alabama's official site: http://info.alabama.gov/calendar.aspx. To coincide with this insult, the 21rst is closer to Robert E Lee's birthday, Jan 19th, than to Kings, Jan 15th.

South Carolina??
I come and go from there and lived there..they don't celebrate MLK day..everyone still works and it's like a normal day to them. -Gladis —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 4.153.29.208 (talk) 13:20, 15 January 2007 (UTC).

As a native of South Carolina, I can verify the above post to be absolutely untrue. MLK Day is observed and has been my entire 34 years of life. I know this, because my brother shares the same birthday and growing up I was quite jealous that he always got a holiday from school. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mandi9 (talk • contribs) 14:04, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

Debate over holiday
There should be information on how the day is debateable (may critics claim that since the Presidents all have to share one day, civil rights leaders and abolitionists should share one day). Casey14 01:05, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

The Apollos
I thought it would be good to add the short film The Appolos as an external link to the MLK Day page. It's about the high school class that lobbied hard to get the bill to create MLK day passed. Here's the link... http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/7/index.php?id=4 Any thoughts? Marycordelia 15:54, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

Article title and article
Why is the article title "Martin Luther King Day", but the first line of the article and top of the infobox say "Martin Luther King Jr. Day," and the infobox says the official title is "Martin Luther King Jr. Day"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.191.23.51 (talk) 23:22, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

Section needs to be edited
This line about New Hampshire is not very accurate:

On January 17, 2000, for the first time, Martin Luther King Day was officially observed in all 50 states.[4] Prior to that New Hampshire and Arizona did not observe the day.

In fact, New Hampshire passed "Civil Rights Day" in 1991, to honor Dr King, and other civil rights activists like Rosa Parks and Malcolm X. Since the article states clearly that other states, such as Utah, have different names for the holiday, including combining it with Confederate military heroes, this sentence does not seem justifiable. The article leaves the impression that New Hampshire was some sort of bigoted state, that was one of the last to recognize this holiday.

I am a newbie to Wikipedia, how do we fix this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 155.188.183.6 (talk) 14:33, 14 January 2008 (UTC)


 * It appears that someone else already fixed this. Primogen (talk) 19:00, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

Another section needs to be edited
"In May 1990, the holiday was expanded further when President George H. W. Bush signed an extension making the week long celebration into a month-long."

Leaving aside the fact that "month-long" should have a noun following it, when was the day expanded to a week? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.57.209.252 (talk) 18:29, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

I think that it is referring to Black/African-American History Month, rather than week. -- .ιΙ I n hu man 14 Ιι. 20:12, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

One of four?
The article states that MLK day is one of 4 federal holidays that commemorates an individual. The Federal Holiday page seems to only list 3, MLK, Washington and Columbus. Who is the fourth? Is the article talking about Christ/Christmas? 17.232.148.124 (talk) 17:32, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Maybe someone thought Lincoln's birthday? Kingturtle (talk) 17:55, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Since Lincoln's birthday is not an official Federal Holiday, should the article be edited, or is Christ the 4th person? 17.232.148.124 (talk) 18:07, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
 * The footnote now say the others are Washington, Columbus and Christ. But isn't Washington's Bday called Presidents day? Kingturtle (talk) 20:35, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Not according to the Federal Holiday article. Officially, it's still Washington's Birthday. 17.232.148.124 (talk) 20:57, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Opposition
These assertions need to be sourced. Especially for Reagan since that seems to be the most specific. If no source for this can be found it needs to be removed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.0.175.144 (talk) 20:10, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Agreed, the insert that involved current candidate John McCain REALLY needs to be sourced, for it's easy to see why someone would post such false information, to make McCain appear racist, however slightly. If left un-sourced, the information should be deleted QUICKLY.75.185.223.154 (talk) 23:56, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Citation for Utah
I found the bill that changed Human Rights Day to MLK Day in Utah, but since I'm pretty new I'm not sure how to add it and format it correctly. Here it is, though: http://www.le.state.ut.us/~2000/htmdoc/sbillhtm/SB0121.htm Browncoatamanda (talk) 23:26, 21 January 2008 (UTC)
 * ✅--Greenguy1090 (talk) 16:52, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

1990
The article says the holiday was extended to a month in 1990 - that isn't correct is it? The edit summary that inserted that says that it was an explanation for the photo, but the photo is of Bush signing HR 1385, which extended the holiday commission, not the holiday. He made this speech at the time. Bazzargh (talk) 19:46, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
 * OK fixed that, but it appears that the caption for the photo is wrong - it's most likely of him signing the bill, not the proclamation - the proclamation is signed on the holiday, the bill was signed may 17th as suggested by the caption. Bazzargh (talk) 21:11, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
 * It was the date that was wrong - this was a signing on Jan 17 1992, according to the presidential library. Added ref. Bazzargh (talk) 21:46, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Why is there a link to a Sam Francis article?
Why does this article link to the ramblings of that bitter old racist paleocon? Is this POV-pushing link really necessary? His opinions are hardly mainstream: "Breaking down the sexual barriers between the races is a major weapon of cultural destruction" is one particular little gem of his.MosKillinest (talk) 03:48, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

Holidays commemorating individuals
Is it correct to claim that Christmas Day honours or commemorates an individual person? Aren't we assuming that the person existed? Are we ignoring the pre-Christian history of the festival ... not to mention the post-Christian history? J IM ptalk·cont 14:52, 15 July 2008 (UTC)


 * A holiday celebrated around the same time as Christmas now is, did pre-date Christmas, but the holiday as it now exists does commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, though not everyone who celebrates the holiday is necessarily Christian (according to one poll, 92% of Americans celebrate Christmas in some form; obviously not all those people profess to be Christians).  Whether you accept or reject the religious claims about Christ is a matter of opinion and faith, but there is plenty of historical evidence such a person did in fact exist; several contemporary historians (ie., Tacitus, Josephus, etc.) mention him and for as much of a record of him to exist if he never in fact did would require a conspiracy of hundreds of people and kept secret for more than 2000 years.  That is highly unlikely, to say the least.  71.229.178.108 (talk) 06:06, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

An even easier way to decide it, check out the Wikipedia page "Christmas and holiday season". The Federal Holiday in December technically does not celebrate Christmas or the birth of Jesus Christ, Its meant to celebrate the "holiday" season which would include Christmas, Hanukkah,Kwanzaa, and numerous others.Utkarshshah007 (talk) 13:09, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

I believe this paragraph should be amended to read that only MLK and Columbus are honored with national holidays in the US (and I am a practicing Christian). Here's why: Christmas is distinct from Martin Luther King Day and Columbus Day. The former celebrates an event (per Christianity, the birth of the Lord in human form). The latter celebrates and memorializes the lives of two individuals, in globo. To say that Christmas is a "national holiday for Jesus" is to say that Easter is also a national holiday for Jesus. There is no conceptual difference. To remain consistent, this paragraph should at least be amended to reflect that argument. In reality, however, Christmas and Easter celebrate important events in Christianity, not "Jesus," per se. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.203.160.18 (talk) 21:54, 17 January 2011 (UTC)


 * I think it should just be removed. We can avoid arguments and edit wars about Christmas that way. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 22:01, 17 January 2011 (UTC)
 * ✅ --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 22:05, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Underdeveloped article
This article should state what year financial markets closed for the holiday for the first time, when they had half days or what not. It should state when banks and post offices first closed. It should also have a section on unusual observances such as the fact that the New York Knicks play their only regularly scheduled weekday afternoon home game on this day and have since YYYY to celebrate the day. I would think there are a ton of such observances.--TonyTheTiger (t/c/bio/WP:CHICAGO/WP:LOTM) 13:37, 5 September 2008 (UTC)

This doesn't make sense.
The article currently says, "Ronald Reagan [...] recanted only after Congress passed the King Day bill. [...] Prior to that date, New Hampshire and Arizona had not observed the day. Throughout the 1990s, this was heavily criticized."

This doesn't make chronological sense. It implies that people criticized NH and AZ in the 1990s, until Reagan passed a bill in the 1980s. --Mike Schiraldi (talk) 01:28, 18 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Seems that it was an Official Holiday but not an Official State Holiday? Is that right? 38.109.88.194 (talk) 07:18, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

US Holidays named after people.
The article states that besides MLK Day, there are only two other Federal holidays named after people and references George Washington's Birthday and Columbus Day. The is a third federal holiday that was omitted: CHRISTMAS. Bigjohndallas (talk) 05:08, 17 January 2009 (UTC)John Hubbard

Great Job! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.41.122.197 (talk) 18:39, 19 January 2009 (UTC) the day he was bron was the best he never gave up he belived and thats what he wanted us to do belive just belive

Punctuation
This article frequently switches back and forth between using a comma before "Jr." and not. In journalism, we're taught the comma is incorrect as the suffix is an integral part of a person's name, but I'm game either way - as long as Wikipedia picks one and goes with it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.66.9.184 (talk) 00:12, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Proximity to Obama's Inauguration Day
Is the proximity of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Inauguration Day any more significant than, say, a planetary conjunction of Mercury and Venus? This is trivia and doesn't belong in the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.223.208.125 (talk) 01:46, 20 January 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. The date for the Presidential Inauguration was set with the passing of the 20th Amendment on January 23, 1933. Prior to this the date had been March 4th beginning with Washington's second inaugruation. The only exceptions to this are when Inauguration Day would fall on a Sunday (in which case it occurs on January 21st instead of the 20th) or in the event the previous president either passes away or resigns in the middle of the year. In that case the new president is sworn in as soon as possible, typically without the fanfare of a proper Inauguration Day.

Martin Luther King Jr Day is a floating, or (as I call it) moving, holiday. That is it is set on a particular day of the month (though for Easter that is either March or April) rather than a set date and thus the date changes from year to year. As it is set on the third Monday in January it can fall no earlier than January 15th and no later than January 21st. So some Inaugural years will see it closer than others. In fact 2013 will see it on Inauguration Day.

When the lawmakers passed the bill making it an offical US holiday they had absolutely no way of knowing Obama was even going to run for President, much less get elected. In fact he was a political nobody at the time the holiday was made official. Thus it becomes only a coincidence that Martin Luther King Jr Day occured the day before Obama took the oath of office. -annonymous 1/17/2011 3:07 AM EST —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.64.8.201 (talk) 08:07, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Martin Luther King
we love you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.157.30.131 (talk) 16:42, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Arizona
The time line skips from "Following the failure of the 1990 proposition to recognize the holiday in Arizona..." to "It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000." (intro paragraph). When did it change for Arizona, and how? 70.162.187.246 (talk) 07:05, 20 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Yeah, the article seems to completely skip over this. Kaldari (talk) 22:49, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Why Monday
Why'd they make it Monday rather than the 15th? Emperor001 (talk) 22:21, 17 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Most national holidays are celebrated on the nearest Monday. Blame it on the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 22:31, 17 January 2010 (UTC)

Edit Request / Alternate Names / Mississippi
The State of Mississippi recognizes January 18 as the birthday of both Robert E. Lee and Martin Luther King, Jr.

see § 3-3-7 of the Mississippi Code —Preceding unsigned comment added by Abreviks (talk • contribs) 20:25, 17 January 2010
 * Sh i r ik ( Questions or Comments? ) 02:02, 18 January 2010 (UTC)
 * ✅ I tried to fit it in the most reasonable place I could. Feel free to adjust/critique. -- Sh i r ik ( Questions or Comments? ) 02:10, 18 January 2010 (UTC)

NEW VANDALISM
"They suggest that by honoring him it enables the American people to forget how subversive he really was, and, therefore, they want a return to the serious implications of King's desire for a complete revolution.[17]"

MLK desired "complete revolution"? Seriouosly?

Plus, I would HARDLY call the reference a reliable or trustworthy source. If nothing else, this reference is either summarizing another article in an original and wholly biased way; or, this reference is original information and biased in itself...

Lastly, since the reference is quite obviously an opinion, I went searching for the article it purports to cite. Can't find it anywhere.

Somebody please fix this. Thanks 38.109.88.194 (talk) 07:14, 18 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Thank you for pointing this out. The source is an opinion column, and it's being offered in support of a statement of opinion ("There have also been voices supportive of King who argue ... They suggest ... ").
 * That said, the source didn't support the statement in the article, so I deleted the last phrase. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 07:50, 18 January 2010 (UTC)
 * I removed it entirely per WP:NPOV. It is an extremely minority view that does not have prominent adherents, and as such, does not belong here. Viriditas (talk) 03:30, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Shenandoahvalley.com
Although I was able to find the correct link I don't see why we need it in the article. Plus, I could not verify the name of the author as claimed, nor the reliability (and accuracy of the source). Viriditas (talk) 11:10, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Columbus
Ok Guys... Lets just face the facts. Columbus did not pioneer the "European Discovery" of the New World. There's evidence of numerous discovers years before his, especially that of Leif Erikson. Having this in the History section as such is silly. I plan to change it to "the navigator, colonizer, and explorer from the Republic of Genoa, whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents" (See Christopher Columbus Wiki)Utkarshshah007 (talk) 13:25, 17 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Utkarshshah007 (talk) 13:26, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Official name
According to the Federal holidays in the United States article the official name is "Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr." with "Martin Luther King, Jr. Day" being a commonly used colloquialism. Is that correct? If so, shouldn't this be renamed? At the very least it should be mentioned in the opening paragraph. --Khajidha (talk) 17:13, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Arizona
The State of Arizona does not celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. — Preceding unsigned comment added by NathanMan2000 (talk • contribs) 20:13, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

someone please change edits made by 213.41.194.210 on Jan 18th
user 213.41.194.210 on Jan 18th made several edits which are spam/incorrect. I am not good at editing, so can someone please change the article back to the way it was before Brodog2525 (talk) 14:11, 18 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Fixed, thanks for pointing it out. Next time, just go to the page history and click the datetime of the last edit before the vandalism. That will bring up that version of the page -- at that point you can click "Edit" and save the page, and it will erase the later edits. --SarekOfVulcan (talk) 14:29, 18 January 2011 (UTC)

Martin luther king, jr.
Please, there is no comma after king, please fix. :P its Martin Luther King Jr.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.251.83.249 (talk) 20:30, 21 June 2011 (UTC)


 * On the contrary, it is incorrect without the comma. — Malik Shabazz Talk/Stalk 05:31, 22 June 2011 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 15:20, 1 May 2016 (UTC)