Holiday for All
Federal offices will be closed Monday in observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. State offices, county offices and schools that didn’t close last Friday will also be closed.
But King’s birthday, declared a federal holiday by Congress and President Reagan and a state holiday by Gov. George Deukmejian, has been made a legal holiday by only three cities in Orange County.
Irvine and Huntington Beach have been honoring King since his birthday became a federal holiday in 1986, and Monday, Santa Ana, which has the largest black population in the county, will observe the holiday for the first time.
Santa Ana, though slow to recognize King, is still far ahead of the 24 other county cities that have yet to set the day aside to honor a great American who lost his life in the cause of civil rights.
King was black. But his birthday should be a holiday for all Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. preached equality, faith, nonviolence and peace. His life, and more important what it stood for, should be remembered and celebrated at least once a year. And observed by all of Orange County’s 27 cities.
Start your day right
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