The Volokh Conspiracy - MLK Day Debate Thread:

Resolved: The federal holiday known as "Martin Luther King, Jr., Day," ~~should be replaced with a holiday~~ should have been called "Civil Rights Day". Discuss.

UPDATE: Commenters don't seem to want to make the "Pro" argument, so here are some potential arguments (note: I am not endorsing any of these views, but I've heard them over the years):

(1) Naming the holiday after King neglects the contribution of the many thousands of others who contributed to the development of civil rights in the U.S., and it runs the risk of reducing the Civil Rights movement as taught in schools to the story of Dr. King.

(2) We don't usually name holidays after people, but events, movements, or whatnot: Labor Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veteran's Day. Washington's Birthday is an exception, but even there, the holiday has become known popularly as "President's Day." And Columbus Day is also an exception, this holiday was founded as a political sop to Italian Americans, and is gradually becoming neglected.

(3) MLK was a great leader, but his views on civil rights and other things were and remain very controversial. For example, many on the Left believe he was too "accommodationist" and "integrationist." Many on the right believe his economic views were socialistic. Because many of his views are still not universally praised, the focus of public celebrations of his holiday are on him as a great leader who promoted civil rights, and he is best remembered for the "I have a dream speech." But if we are primarily celebrating the principle, why not have the holiday be based on that principle, and avoid the annual unproductive debate over whether "we" are really following Dr. King's principles, when a large percentage of Americans, though committed to civil rights and equality as they see it, have not necessarily agreed with some fraction of his principles to begin with?

Of course, it would be extraordinary to change the name of an existing holiday, and MLK Day has itself become symbolic of the success of the Civil Rights Movement, so I've edited the topic slightly. And how about the suggestion of the commenter that it should have been called "Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights Day?"

FURTHER UPDATE: There is already a federally designated "National Civil Rights Day". Who knew? In theory, it could be combined with MLK Day to form the holiday suggested by the commenter.

	[David Bernstein, January 16, 2006 at 3:42pm] Trackbacks MLK Day Debate Thread: Resolved: The federal holiday known as "Martin Luther King, Jr., Day," ~~should be replaced with a holiday~~ should have been called "Civil Rights Day". Discuss. UPDATE: Commenters don't seem to want to make the "Pro" argument, so here are some potential arguments (note: I am not endorsing any of these views, but I've heard them over the years): (1) Naming the holiday after King neglects the contribution of the many thousands of others who contributed to the development of civil rights in the U.S., and it runs the risk of reducing the Civil Rights movement as taught in schools to the story of Dr. King. (2) We don't usually name holidays after people, but events, movements, or whatnot: Labor Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veteran's Day. Washington's Birthday is an exception, but even there, the holiday has become known popularly as "President's Day." And Columbus Day is also an exception, this holiday was founded as a political sop to Italian Americans, and is gradually becoming neglected. (3) MLK was a great leader, but his views on civil rights and other things were and remain very controversial. For example, many on the Left believe he was too "accommodationist" and "integrationist." Many on the right believe his economic views were socialistic. Because many of his views are still not universally praised, the focus of public celebrations of his holiday are on him as a great leader who promoted civil rights, and he is best remembered for the "I have a dream speech." But if we are primarily celebrating the principle, why not have the holiday be based on that principle, and avoid the annual unproductive debate over whether "we" are really following Dr. King's principles, when a large percentage of Americans, though committed to civil rights and equality as they see it, have not necessarily agreed with some fraction of his principles to begin with? Of course, it would be extraordinary to change the name of an existing holiday, and MLK Day has itself become symbolic of the success of the Civil Rights Movement, so I've edited the topic slightly. And how about the suggestion of the commenter that it should have been called "Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights Day?" FURTHER UPDATE: There is already a federally designated "National Civil Rights Day". Who knew? In theory, it could be combined with MLK Day to form the holiday suggested by the commenter.