Biloxi Miss. renames MLK Day, Internet outraged
The city of Biloxi, Mississippi, announced that its offices would be closed on Monday for something called “Great Americans Day,” and people definitely noticed.
Despite the city’s claims that “Great Americans Day” is just what Monday is called in their state (it’s Martin Luther King Day everywhere else), it doesn’t appear on any Mississippi news sources, or in the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office, which recognizes Monday as a dual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s and Robert E. Lee’s birthdays.
And yet this was the tweet posted on Friday by the city of Biloxi: “Non-emergency municipal offices in Biloxi will be closed on Monday in observance of Great Americans Day.”
— Mississippi State basketball team rescues woman whose car flipped on highway —
Vincent Creel, the city’s public affairs manager, spoke out after the tweet generated severe backlash, pointing out that the state celebrated both King and Lee on the same days.
“For whatever reason, the state couldn’t bring itself to just say ‘Martin Luther King Jr. Day,’” Creel said. “Somewhere along the lines, that evolved into ‘Great Americans Day,’ unfortunately. And yes, I did say ‘unfortunately.’”
Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich issued a news release on Friday requesting the city council change the name to MLK Day.
“That is the appropriate step to take for the holiday to have the same name as the federal holiday,” Gilich said in the news release. “The city’s longstanding support of our annual MLK celebrations speaks volumes about our support for this holiday.”
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