South Carolina School Tries To Sweep MLK Day Under The Rug

by Carol Scott · 2011-01-11 15:58:00 UTC
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2000 was a big year for civil rights in South Carolina. In 2000, the state became the last state to make Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a holiday - 17 years after it was first passed.

2000 was also the year that the Confederate flag was removed from S.C.'s statehouse dome.

But today, more than ten years later, two civil rights groups in Rock Hill, S.C. are fighting to make sure MLK Day remains a holiday. Even though it's a national day of remembrance, Rock Hill's school district plans to use it merely as a snow day make-up.

The Rock Hill NAACP, as well as a faith-based group called THUG (True Healing Under God) are calling on the superintendent to change course and respect Dr. King's memory.

"We are very disappointed that the Rock Hill schools will use the Official Holiday of slain civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a makeup day," NAACP chapter president Melvin Poole wrote Rock Hill Schools Superintendent Lynn Moody in a letter.

"This time is set aside to honor a man who devoted his life to the service of mankind and should not be disturbed," he said. "(We) kindly request that you reconsider."

What's the issue? Severe weather earlier this week forced the school district to close on Monday and Tuesday. Because the school board voted last year to make MLK Day - as well as Presidents Day and Memorial Day - a go-to day for making up lost time, the school is bound to open on Monday, Moody told the groups. State budget woes mean that regularly scheduled make-up days are no longer an option, she said.

But national holidays are national holidays, and a day centered around Dr. King - especially in a state like South Carolina, where a Confederate flag flew from the statehouse dome as late as 2000 - is not just any day of the week.

Treating MLK Day as just another day sends the message that it's not a real holiday and that students shouldn't take the achievements of Dr. King seriously. That's a false - and, with S.C.'s dark racial history, an ignorant - message to send.

Stand with the civil rights groups calling for MLK's memory to be honored. Sign our petition and tell Rock Hill's superintendent Lynn Moody to find another way to make up snow days. Dr. King's memory is too important to sweep under the rug.

Photo credit: caboindex via Flickr

Carol Scott is the Education Editor for Change.org.

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