Why Did Arizona Reject the Martin Luther King Holiday?

Arizona rejected the Martin Luther King holiday for rather complex reasons. It was a fairly long battle to get the state to accept the holiday. There was not just one problem along the way, but there were several obstacles to tackle.

What follows is a timeline of the history of Arizona's refusal to honor MLK day and the reasons why the state of Arizona so adamantly rejected it.

• 1986 - The federal government declared MLK Day as a national holiday; however, states still had this own say in the matter. The holiday actually did not make it through the Arizona state legislature, but Governor Bruce Babbitt declared it to be a holiday throughout the state. Therefore, from the very beginnings of the holiday, tension was set up between Arizona and MLK Day.
• 1987 - Evan Meacham became governor of Arizona. He said that since the state was put into practice on unfair grounds, he was going to take the declaration back. As of 1987, Arizona officially did not recognize or participate in MLK Day.
• 1989 - The Arizona state legislature passed a proposal for the holiday, but many people in Arizona were adamantly fighting against the existence of the holiday and they forced it to go under review. Despite what occurred or what authority implemented a bill or proposal, people were right there to fight against it.
• 1990 - In 1990, the leaders of the NFL met to discuss where the 1993 Super Bowl would take place. They were hoping to have it take place in Arizona. Art Mobley, a civil rights advocate from Arizona, told the NFL to think about how Arizona was acting toward the MLK holiday. They did seriously consider this fact, and they did feel that Arizona was not paying honor to MLK. Therefore, they decided to hold the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
• People in Arizona were upset about the NFL decision. Reverend Warren H. Stewart Sr. brought people together in a rally to defend the holiday.
• In 1995, the state finally elected to celebrate MLK Day as a holiday.

There was such a great deal of controversy surrounding Arizona's acceptance of MLK Day that you may wondering about the reason for the controversy. Whether or not Arizona wanted the holiday or was just upset at the automatic way that one governor accepted MLK Day, the state holds the final decision about whether they want to celebrate the holiday.

By 1987, Arizona had rallied their forces to say that the holiday had been forced upon them and that was the reason why they took away the holiday.

History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day

MLK Day did not come about easily. He was assassinated in 1968 and the holiday did not become official in the United States until 1986. After 18 years of waiting, his followers could finally recognize their leader.

However, even once the holiday was created, it was initially only observed by 27 of the states. Other states fought their own battles with the holiday, including Arizona. It is now celebrated by all 50 states in the U.S.