(AP) – Arkansas has taken a first step toward celebrating
Martin Luther King Jr. on the third Monday in January and moving its Robert E.
Lee holiday to the fall.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday made the unusual move of testifying before a
legislative committee. He says King should be celebrated separately for his
civil rights accomplishments, and that Lee fought for the wrong side in the
Civil War.
Arkansas is one of three states to recognize King and Lee on the same day.
Alabama and Mississippi also do so.
Under a bill approved in a voice vote by the Senate Education Committee,
Arkansas’ Lee holiday would be moved to the second Saturday in October. The bill
also sets requirements for what is taught about civil rights and the Civil War.
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