New Hampshire Joins 49 States to Observe King Day
Gov. Steve Merrill signed an executive order Wednesday declaring a state holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., making New Hampshire the last of the 50 states to commemorate the birthday of the slain civil rights leader.
The executive order proclaims the third Monday of January as Martin Luther King Civil Rights Day to coincide with the Jan. 18 federal holiday.
Since last November, when Arizona voters approved a resolution to honor King, New Hampshire had been the only state not to recognize the holiday.
Bills to approve a King day have failed in the state Legislature since 1979. But a measure is expected to pass this year and Merrill, elected last November, has said he would sign it.
Merrill decided to act with his executive authority because it would not have been possible to pass the bill in time for this year’s commemoration next Monday. In 1991, then-Gov. Judd Gregg signed a bill marking Jan. 20, 1992, as Civil Rights Day, but omitting King’s name.
Critics of a King day included the Union Leader newspaper. In editorials, columns and cartoons, the paper had accused King of womanizing, plagiarizing and being unpatriotic for opposing the Vietnam War. The newspaper reversed its stand last month.
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