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Martin Luther King Jr. (Photo by Dick DeMarsico, World Telegram staff photographer – Library of Congress. New York World-Telegram & Sun Collection – Public Domain)
San Manuel Miner
Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK)/Civil Rights Day in Arizona. MLK Day became a federal holiday in 1983. It was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. It would take the state of Arizona until 1992 to accept the holiday.
In 1986 outgoing Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt, a Democrat used an executive order making MLK Day a state holiday. When the new Republican Governor Evan Mecham took office he rescinded the order saying it was unconstitutional. In 1990 the National Football League threatened to move the Super Bowl which had been promised to Arizona for 1993 if the MLK holiday was not made a state holiday. The voters overwhelmingly voted the holiday down. The NFL moved the Super Bowl to California. Arizona lost the chance to bring $500 million into their economy.
MLK Day was again voted on in 1992 and this time it passed. Twenty-two years later we have an African-American President and the Super Bowl is being played in Arizona. Progress in Civil Rights has been made since Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968 but there is still much work to do especially in Arizona. Over the last few years Arizona has garnered a reputation in other parts of the country as the “state of hate”. Arizona’s so called leaders fomented an atmosphere of hate and fear to promote their personal and political agendas. In promoting their agendas they systematically began oppressing the civil rights of others.
To honor Martin Luther King, Jr. we need to help others and stand up against those that seek to discriminate against and oppress others because of the color of their skin, sexual orientation, religion, gender, ethnicity, race, or disability. Civil Rights are Human Rights! As Dr. King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.” -Martin Luther King, Jr.
John Hernandez lives in Oracle. He is retired and enjoys writing and traveling. He is active in the Oracle Historical Society. He covers numerous public events, researches historical features and writes business/artist profiles.
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