About Time: Arkansas will finally split King, Lee holidays

It took several years, but finally change is coming.

Since 1947 the state of Arkansas has had an official state holiday celebrating Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

And since 1983 there has been a federal holiday dedicated to the memory of Civil Rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In 1985, then governor and future President Bill Clinton combined the two holidays so both were celebrated on the same day.

Needless to say this angered many, who saw it as a way to minimize King's legacy.

For some time now there has been an effort to separate the two holidays. And as of today, that effort will pay off.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson will hold a news conference this afternoon to sign a bill that would keep the third Monday in January as a holiday honoring King. The celebration of Lee would move to the second Saturday in October.

The bill was passed Friday by the state House of Representatives. The vote was 66-11.

Eighteen lawmakers abstained and five simply voted "present." Apparently there are those who still refuse to see what's obvious to most.

The two holidays should never have been combined. Indeed, we must ask why Lee should have a state holiday at all.

Gen. Douglas McArthur, for example, was born in Arkansas and there is no official state holiday dedicated to him. There is no holiday honoring other Arkansas-born military heroes, either, such as John Hanks Alexander, a West Point graduate and the first African-American officer to hold a regular command in the U.S. Army; Edward Eberle, who served as U.S. Chief of Naval Operations; Medal of Honor recipient Nicky Bacon; and Maurice "Footsie" Britt, first soldier to win the three highest military decorations-Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star. He also served as the state's lieutenant governor.

No holidays for any of these native Arkansans or any other brave veteran in the state. But for some reason in 1947 Arkansas decided to honor Lee? And continues to do so?

But that's another issue. For now, it is enough that the state has done the right thing.

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