![]() ![]() (By the way, just in case you think this was Mecham's only misstep, please note that he only spent 15 months as governor before he was convicted in an impeachment trial on charges of obstruction of justice and misuse of government funds, and removed from office.) Instead, he suggested a day to honor all civil rights leaders, one that would be celebrated on a Sunday (when no one would get a paid holiday). But when Republican governor Evan Mecham took office in January 1987, he repealed Babbitt's proclamation "on the grounds Babbitt did not have the authority to declare such a holiday," according to the Arizona State Library. Our Democratic governor at the time, Bruce Babbitt, made MLK Day an Arizona holiday later that year. The day was observed for the first time in 1986. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan made the third Monday in January a national holiday to honor the fallen civil rights leader. ![]() Here's the Cliffs Notes version for those unfamiliar with the controversy: Day today in Arizona.īut it wasn't always so, and the road to recognition of the holiday in our fair state was fraught with problems. ![]()
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