As bid for King day split revived, Lee fetes scarce

Reviving a decades-old flash point of Arkansas politics, Gov. Asa Hutchinson has again proposed separating the state's dual celebration of the birthdays of civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

But today, when state, county and city offices close for the joint holiday, Arkansans are unlikely to find public parades, dinners or other events for Lee. Meanwhile, King is being honored with a multitude of events.

According to the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, which keeps track of events across the state, nothing is planned to celebrate Lee, a native Virginian, today.

In addition to Arkansas, two other former Confederate states, Alabama and Mississippi, continue to celebrate a joint King-Lee holiday.

Lee was born on Jan. 19, 1807, and Arkansas had begun recognizing his birthday by 1943 -- almost 80 years after the end of the Civil War -- according to records available from the secretary of state's office.

In the early 1980s, state employees were given a holiday with the option of taking off for either Lee's or King's birthday in January, or for their own birthday, according to Arkansas Democrat-Gazette archives.

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In 1985, the Legislature voted to merge the two birthdays into a state holiday on the third Monday in January, with Act 985 being signed by then-Gov. Bill Clinton. The federal holiday, on the same day, is for King only.

Efforts to unknot the holiday began soon after. In 1989, lawmakers proposed adding an extra state holiday, giving employees the option of taking off for their own birthday or Lee's birthday on the fourth Monday in January. The bill failed.

The Legislature did not push the issue again until 2015, when two House members, a Republican and a Democrat, filed separate bills proposing that Lee be celebrated with a separate day of remembrance. Despite receiving an endorsement from Hutchinson, both bills failed in committee.

Questions about the appropriateness of the holiday have continued to hound state officials.

According to leaked emails from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, staff members discussed getting questioned by the press about Bill Clinton's past support for the holiday. According to one email, a campaign spokesman suggested denouncing the holiday before Hillary Clinton returned to Arkansas to deliver a keynote address at the Democratic Party's 2015 Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.

When asked in 2008 whether the men should be celebrated together, then-Gov. Mike Beebe told The Associated Press that it was up to the Legislature but that, "as a practical matter, virtually all the celebrations have been centered around MLK."

In Lee County, a sparsely populated piece of the Delta named for the Confederate general three years after his 1870 death, County Clerk Pat Wilson said she does not recall any events being held in Lee's honor.

Nor is anything being done in Cleburne County, named after Arkansas' own Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne -- who was killed at the Battle of Franklin in Tennessee in 1864 -- according to the county clerk there.

One of the men leading the fight against separating the Lee-King holiday is Robert Edwards, Arkansas division commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Edwards said he was not expecting a public show of support for Lee today.

"Out of respect for that community, do you think that would be a good idea?" Edwards, of Benton, said. "We don't want to tread on the accomplishments of Martin Luther King."

Instead, Arkansans who wish to memorialize the Confederacy do so in a series of dinners held on Saturdays in January to celebrate Lee and Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, whose birthday is Jan. 21.

Those celebrating the Georgia-born King are expected to be out for gatherings across the state. Parades or marches are planned for today in cities such as Little Rock, Jonesboro and Fayetteville.

The Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, a government-supported office in Little Rock, is planning a "Mega King-Fest" at Little Rock's Central High School with marching bands, a youth summit and guest speakers, as well as a concert performance by hip-hop artist Slick Rick.

DuShun Scarbrough, the executive director of the King commission, declined to comment on Lee's continued association with the holiday.

"When you're fighting for the Confederacy, you're fighting for the institution of slavery," said Rep. Fred Love, D-Little Rock. "How could you ask somebody to actually celebrate that?

"And I know people say that's a part of our heritage. Well, that may be true, but that doesn't always have to be celebrated."

Love, a member of the Legislative Black Caucus, in 2015 sponsored one of two pieces of legislation to split the holiday. The other bill was filed by then-Rep. Nate Bell, an independent from Mena. Both bills proposed to have Lee celebrated in a state memorial day, which workers would not be able to take off.

Edwards said he drove to Little Rock 19 times in 2015 to lobby against "some silly memorial day," and that he plans to return with other Lee supporters if the governor's proposal is considered as legislation.

"I'm tired of messing with Asa," Edwards said when a reporter identified himself over the phone.

Hutchinson has said that taking Lee's name off the January holiday and recognizing him with a separate day in the fall is a "priority" for him during this session, which began Jan. 9. No bill to separate the holiday had been filed as of Friday, and a spokesman said the governor's office is still in the process of finding a legislative sponsor.

Love said he does not plan on sponsoring a bill regarding the holiday this session, adding he was not sure if he would support any bill that continues to give Lee a day of recognition.

"In retrospect, I know I supported that in the past, but I have made a pivot," Love said.

Bell, who is no longer in the Legislature, said it will take an "overwhelming effort" to pass any legislation separating the holiday, because of vocal efforts of Lee supporters, some of whom he described as "white supremacists." When the bill was being considered in the 2015 session, he said, he received threatening emails and phone calls from those opposed to the removal of Lee's name.

"The lead sponsor is going to get blown out by that crowd," Bell said, referring to Lee supporters.

Both Bell and Love said their efforts in 2015 could have been helped by more vocal support from Hutchinson. By making it a stated priority, they said, the governor's support could be the boost needed for passage.

"It's speculative as to why the bill did not pass the first time around," the governor's spokesman, J.R. Davis, said in a statement.

As a self-proclaimed descendant of seven men who fought for the South -- four of whom died -- Edwards believes his heritage should be celebrated in conjunction with the civil-rights leader. After all, he said, the Civil War led to the end of slavery.

"The haters and the racists can't let go," he said. "The worst thing that ever happened to the country was that war."

Metro on 01/16/2017