VOA慢速英语--MLK Day: The Fight for a Holiday to Celebrate Peace

 

In 1968, American civil rights activist¹ Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed outside his motel room. Four days later, a congressman² proposed a federal holiday honoring King. It was to be a holiday celebrating peace.

Who could object to such a proposal?

Many people, it turned out. The struggle to approve Martin Luther King Day took more than 15 years. And it ended with a very unlikely lawmaker: Ronald Reagan, one of America’s most conservative presidents.

Objections to the King holiday

In King’s famous 1963 speech in Washington, D.C., he described his dream for racial unity³ in the United States. In one line, King said he hoped “little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”

The speech helped create King’s public image as a seeker of justice and equality. He based the movement on non-violent resistance, leading large peaceful protests.

Among other things, King’s activism helped end laws that separated black and white Americans.

But people who objected to King’s message – or to King himself –called him a troublemaker⁴, communist and racist⁵. For years after his death, most lawmakers would not consider a proposed bill to make King’s birthday a federal holiday.

Finally, in 1979, after ten years of petitions from millions of citizens, lawmakers discussed the idea of a King holiday in an official hearing.

Author David Chappell writes about some of the objections in his book “Waking from the Dream.”

Chappell reports that one opponent said King used peaceful protests to make others so angry they had to react violently.

Another claimed communist groups were often asked to raise money for King.

A third asserted that King wanted government programs to support blacks over whites.

And many opponents questioned whether King deserved the same respect as George Washington, the nation’s first president who is honored with a federal holiday.

The bill did not pass.

But wait, how about…?

Some lawmakers proposed alternative ideas. How about a statue of King in the Capitol building? While the Capitol included more than 600 works of art at the end of the 1970s, only two featured black Americans.

Others suggested a day somewhat less than a federal holiday. Why not a “commemoration” of King’s birthday on the third Sunday of January? A more informal Sunday commemoration cost less than giving federal workers a paid weekday off, they said.

King holiday supporters agreed to a statue of King in the Capitol. But they insisted that the civil rights leader also deserved the full respect of a national holiday.

One supporter, musician Steven Wonder, even released a hit song celebrating King’s work and criticizing those who opposed a holiday. The song was called “Happy Birthday.”

Two years later, Wonder – along with King’s widow, Coretta Scott King – presented Congress with the signatures of more than 6 million people supporting the King Holiday.

Another vote

In 1983, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate officially discussed the King holiday again. The timing⁶ was surprising because conservative Republican Party candidate Ronald Reagan had recently been elected president. His party also controlled the Senate. Reagan had said publicly he did not support the King holiday proposal.

In addition, the U.S. economy was struggling. Lawmakers were reluctant to agree to the cost of another holiday.

But American culture had also changed. Author David Chappell says that in the early 1980s, the arguments against King were not as effective as they once were. Many voters no longer responded positively⁷ to opponents’ charges that King incited⁸ violence, was linked to communists, or supported racial division.

Even some conservative lawmakers – especially those with large African-American populations in their districts – had slowly changed their position on the issue.

By the end of that year, the bill establishing the King holiday passed both the House and the Senate. It went to the president to sign.

Reagan and King

Earlier in his career, Reagan had praised King. In the 1960s, the future president had called King “a great leader and teacher.” Reagan had said King symbolized⁹ “courage, sacrifice, and the tireless pursuit of justice.”

Two years into his presidency¹⁰, Reagan’s respect for King seemed to have returned. In January of 1983, Reagan noted¹¹ that he and King did not share political philosophies. But, Reagan said, the two men shared “a deep belief in freedom and justice under God.”

Several months later, Reagan communicated his support for a day honoring King—although, he did not say exactly why he changed his mind.

On November 2, 1983, Ronald Reagan signed the legislation establishing the third Monday of every January as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.

Even though the holiday rarely falls on King’s actual birthday—January 15—it permits public school students and federal workers a three-day weekend to relax, spend time with loved ones, or perform community service.

One final note…

As the bill described, the federal government began celebrating the holiday in 1986. Most states extended the holiday to other workers and students.

But several states declined to dedicate the day only to King. New Hampshire combined it with Civil Rights Day. Utah and Idaho combined it with Human Rights Day.

Arizona chose not to recognize the day at all, until tourists boycotted¹³ the state and the National Football League refused to play the Super Bowl there.

And some Southern states honored American Civil War generals alongside King. The birthday of Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general who fought for states’ rights to maintain African-American slavery, is January 19. Lee’s cause lost in the Civil War, but some states remember him with a holiday.

One of them, Virginia, celebrated¹⁴ General Lee, fellow Confederate general Stonewall Jackson, and Martin Luther King, Jr. all on the same occasion: Lee-Jackson-King Day.

In 2000, the Virginia governor succeeded in separating the events. The Confederate generals are remembered on a Friday. King is honored three days later.

Words in This Story

petition – n. a written document that people sign to show that they want a person or organization to do or change something

assert – v. to state (something) in a strong and definite way

commemoration – n. something (such as a special ceremony) that is intended to honor an important event or person from the past

signatures – n. a person's name written in that person's handwriting

boycott¹² – v. to refuse to buy, use, or participate in (something) as a way of protesting

fellow – adj. used to describe people who belong to the same group or class or who share a situation, experience, etc.

1 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

2 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 troublemaker   

n.惹是生非者，闹事者，捣乱者

参考例句：

• I would hate you to think me a troublemaker.我不愿你认为我是个搬弄是非的人。
• Li Yang has always been a troublemaker.李阳总是制造麻烦。

5 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

6 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

7 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

8 incited   

刺激，激励，煽动( incite的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He incited people to rise up against the government. 他煽动人们起来反对政府。
• The captain's example incited the men to bravery. 船长的榜样激发了水手们的勇敢精神。

9 symbolized   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• For Tigress, Joy symbolized the best a woman could expect from life. 在她看，小福子就足代表女人所应有的享受。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• A car symbolized distinction and achievement, and he was proud. 汽车象征着荣誉和成功，所以他很自豪。 来自辞典例句

10 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

13 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

14 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。