“Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!”

“Don’t you mean Happy Robert E. Lee Day?”

While I cannot speak for the happy part of the latter statement, it is unfortunately true that MLK Jr. Day is celebrated on the same day as Lee Day in Alabama and Mississippi. The coincidence of birthdays — King’s birthday being Jan. 15 and Lee’s being Jan. 19 — and Congress passing the Uniform Monday Holidays Act in 1983 pushed both holidays to the third Monday of January.

Now for the $1 million question: Why is a Civil Rights leader and a Confederate general celebrated on the same day? Why is Lee celebrated at all?

Some Lee supporters claim he viewed slavery as “a moral and political evil” and was forced to fight for his home state. While these claims are not completely farfetched, Lee also wrote many entries stating slavery was better for Black people than living in Africa.  Most people could say Lee just has an intense white savior complex; this is just as problematic and racist. Regardless of his personal beliefs, he still fought for slavery.

Lee’s name appeared in headlines in 2020 after his 12-ton statue was removed from Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. This event was part of the wave of Confederate statues renamed or removed following the death of George Floyd. It was not until around this time Lee supporters started using King’s words to contradict the riots and protest. Some even went so far as to twist the meanings of some of his greatest quotes against rioters and protesters, despite King’s son giving a clear explanation. Who would know King’s words better than his son? Of course, it is the people who sit behind fortresses of white privilege.

This is no longer about progressiveness or the alleged anti-white agenda. This is about people who have been oppressed for hundreds of years due to the color of their skin. This is about a Civil Rights hero getting the honor he deserves without anything, or anyone, competing for his limelight, or, even worse, countering the cause King advocated for in the first place. King deserves to be celebrated for the monumental leader and heartening pastor he was.

Although this injustice has not gone unseen, state legislators refuse to change the date of Lee Day. Other Southern states have either gotten rid of or changed the date of this controversial holiday. For example, Arkansas moved the date of Lee Day to the second Saturday of October, which correlates with Memorial Day. Although this is unfortunately a compromise, it is better than MLK Jr. sharing a day with the type of person he spent his life fighting against. The date should be moved to April when Mississippi celebrates a similar hidden holiday: Confederate History Month.

State Rep. Kabir Karriem of Columbus drafted a bill last year to separate Lee Day from the same day that honors King. This bill has been introduced countless times in the past but was rejected every year. He was confident the bill would become law, but his effort was in vain.

Lee Day gives some unfortunate people an outlet to undermine the works of King, and a solution needs to break the ice. Hopefully this happens before Mississippi thaws out.

This story was originally published on The Vision MSMS on January 23, 2024.