(AP) – A proposal to remove Robert E. Lee from slain civil
rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday in Arkansas would set aside a day
in October to honor the Confederate general.
Lawmakers filed a bill Tuesday to end Arkansas’ practice of commemorating both
men on the third Monday in January. Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson has called
for the state to remove Lee from the King holiday.
The bill designates the second Saturday in October as a state memorial day for
Lee that would be commemorated by a gubernatorial proclamation. It also calls
for the state to expand its teachings about the contributions of King and other
civil rights leaders as well as the Civil War.
Arkansas is one of three states that honor King and Lee on the same day.
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