Jun 19, 1987 · PHOENIX — Gov. Evan Mecham, under fire by civil rights leaders since he rescinded a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., announced Thursday that he would honor King with a...

Mecham gained national attention several days after his inauguration by fulfilling a campaign promise to cancel a paid Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday (MLK Day) for state employees.

Jan 17, 2025 · Martin Luther King Jr. Day is recognized across the nation, both as a state and national holiday, on the civil rights activist’s birthday, Jan. 20. The day serves as an opportunity for the country to honor King’s life and legacy and encourage everyone to volunteer to improve their communities.

Evan Mecham, the governor of Arizonia fullfilled his campaign promise to cancel a paid MLK Day holiday for state employees as his first act in office. He replied to civil rights activists and the Black community after the cancellation by saying "King doesn't deserve a holiday."

Martin Luther King Jr. Day ... his Republican successor Evan Mecham, citing an attorney general's opinion that Babbitt's order was illegal, reversed Babbitt's decision days after taking office. [19] Later that year, Mecham proclaimed the third Sunday in January to be "Martin Luther King Jr./Civil Rights Day" in Arizona, albeit as an unpaid holiday.

Feb 21, 2008 · Letter from Rex C. Peterson to Governor Mecham, February 1987, re: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Arizona

Letter from Steve Frost to Governor Mecham, January 20, 1987, re: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Arizona

Jan 15, 2025 · Then in 1987, Gov. Evan Mecham rescinded his predecessor’s executive order enacting a state holiday in Arizona. “He said ‘Black people don’t need a holiday. Y’all need jobs,'” recalled Dr....

Jan 16, 2015 · The only Martin Luther King Jr. holiday I remember -- really remember -- was in 1988, when there was no MLK holiday in Arizona. A few years earlier Evan Mecham was elected governor following a quirky, three-way general election. After being sworn in the following January, Mecham rescinded former Gov. Bruce Babbit's executive order creating a ...

Jan 19, 2025 · Arizona was not the last state to create an official, paid Martin Luther King holiday, but it was perhaps the most well-known of the holdouts because of the resistance of controvers­ial former Gov. Evan Mecham.