PHOTOS: Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson signs Lee-King holiday separation bill into law

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, signs into law a bill that ends dual holiday status commemorating civil-rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. and Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, signs into law a bill that ends dual holiday status commemorating civil-rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. and Confederate general Robert E. Lee.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday signed into a law a bill that ends the dual commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert E. lee as part of a single-day holiday.

Last week, the state House of Representatives voted 66-11 to send the legislation, Senate Bill 519, to the Republican governor’s desk. The state Senate previously voted 24-0 on the bill.

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Photos by Brandon Riddle

Hutchinson, an outspoken proponent of ending the dual January holiday, called Tuesday’s signing important for the state, ending a two-year discussion that at times sparked debate.

"I expected this debate would divide us but instead during the debate we listened to each other, and the conversation brought us together," the governor said.

Hutchinson added that the legislation, an "education bill," allowed for a discussion that "educated each of us."

"We learned that history needs to be viewed not just from our own lens but through the eyes and experiences of others," he said.

The governor recognized state Rep. George McGill, D-Fort Smith, who spoke at length on the House floor before colleagues voted and told fellow lawmakers, "Arkansas is much bugger than its footprint."

One legislator, Hutchinson told attendees at the bill signing, changed his opposition to support in part because of McGill's speech. That lawmaker's name was not released.

Removal of the dual holiday for King and Lee means only two other states still commemorate the civil-rights leader and Confederate general on the same day: Mississippi and Alabama.

King will still be recognized on the traditional state holiday held on the third Monday in January.

As part of the legislation, Arkansas’ governor will recognize Lee by gubernatorial proclamation on the second Saturday in October.

SB519 also mandates that the education commissioner develop a curriculum on civil-rights icons and the state’s history in the Civil War.

Read Wednesday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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