Two U.S. states honor Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on the federal holiday for Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Do you know which ones?
This year, the state and federal holiday also falls on Inauguration Day for President-elect Donald Trump.
Here’s what you need to know about King-Lee Day and its history. Will mail be delivered? Will banks be open?
Why is MLK Day on Jan. 20?
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is always scheduled to take place on the third Monday in January. President Ronald Regan signed the bill creating the holiday into federal law in 1983. It was first observed in 1986.
King was born on Jan. 15, 1929.
In 2 states, MLK Day also honors Robert E. Lee
When the federal holiday was adopted in the 1980s, Mississippi and Alabama lawmakers opted to add it to an existing holiday honoring Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Many states in the South initially adopted this approach. Most, including Lee’s home state of Virginia, have since dropped celebrating Lee, who was born on Jan. 19, 1807.
Attempts to separate the holidays through legislation have failed. Mississippi State Rep. Kabir Karriem, D-Columbus, introduced bills that failed in 2023 and 2024. He submitted a new bill to separate the holidays on Wednesday, Jan. 15.
The only other state celebrating Robert E. Lee Day and King together is Alabama. Similar bills to separate the celebration of Lee or strike it from the state holiday calendar completely have also failed to pass.
What other Confederate holidays are celebrated?
Confederate Memorial Day is still celebrated across the South, though not all places treat it officially and give state workers the day off. In Mississippi, it’s an official state holiday on the last Monday in April. In Alabama and Florida, it’s on the fourth Monday in April. Alabama treats it as an official holiday. Texas celebrates it as a state holiday on Jan. 19. North and South Carolina celebrate on May 10, but state offices close only in South Carolina. June 3 is when Kentucky and Tennessee honor the dead from the Civil War, and Tennessee calls it Confederate Decoration Day.
Alabama has a state holiday for Confederate President Jefferson Davis on the first Monday in June, but Mississippi pairs it with Memorial Day on the last Monday in May. (He was born June 3, 1808.)
Learn more:Mississippi one of only four states that still celebrates Confederate Memorial Day. Why?
Will I get mail? Will banks be open? Will schools be closed?
Mail will not run for MLK Day, and post offices will be closed. UPS also will be closed, and FedEx will have modified FedEx1 service but be open otherwise.
Banks will be closed.
Public schools usually close. Check your child’s school calendar to be sure.
Will flags be half-staff on MLK Day?
U.S. flags are lowered in mourning. President Joe Biden announced Monday, Dec. 30 that all U.S. flags will fly at half-staff for 30 days to honor the death of former President Jimmy Carter. Carter, who was also a former governor of Georgia, died at 100 on Sunday, Dec. 29, at his home in Georgia.
That’s set to end Jan. 28. The length of time flags should be at half-staff after the death of a former president was set in 1954.
Private companies and citizens can choose to display flags at half-staff.
Trump complained about the flags being at half-staff on Truth Social.
“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration,” Trump said in a post. He used the term for flags being halfway up the mast of a ship, not a flagpole. “They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country, they only think about themselves.”
Photos show the flags were at full-staff as of Monday, Jan. 13, at Trump’s Florida home, Mar-a-Lago.
On Tuesday, U.S. Speaker Mike Johnson announced that flags at the U.S. Capitol will be flown at full staff for the inauguration.
On Thursday, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves ordered that flags in Mississippi will be flown at full height Monday for the inauguration.
“This is a historic day for America, and Mississippi looks forward to celebrating it,” Reeves said in a press release on Thursday. “Our state is excited for Donald J. Trump to be sworn in as president, and we look forward to supporting his America First agenda. Mississippi is ready to help Make America Great Again!”
Other governors have also ordered flags at full staff for the inauguration, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
What’s the difference in half-staff and half-mast?
The term half-mast applies to ships and naval station. When a flag is displayed on a flagpole on shore, the correct term is half-staff.
Contributing: Grant McLaughlin
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at [email protected].
