Arkansas House Committee again rejects effort to split King and Lee holiday

A bill that would eliminate the dual status of a state holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Confederate general Robert E. Lee failed Wednesday for a second time in committee.

The House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs voted against House Bill 1113 during a committee meeting at the capitol in Little Rock. The bill, which also failed in committee Jan. 28, was amended the day before the meeting. The amendment would remove a state holiday honoring Confederate president Jefferson Davis on June 3 and would create a holiday honoring Lee and Confederate general Patrick Cleburne on Nov. 30.

Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena, who sponsored the bill, said he has heard from people about the bill in recent weeks. Some of the comments were threatening and Bell played a telephone message he said he received from someone opposed to the bill. Bell called the threats “thinly veiled” and said he has received comments about why he – a white conservative Republican from Mena – was proposing the bill.

Bell said the holiday has become a “tool for racial division” with the issue becoming heated. However, people who spoke against the bill said the measure would have divided people even further.

Leon Davis, who spoke against the bill, referred to it as “bovine confluence.” Robert Edwards, who also spoke against the bill, noted that Mississippi – another state with the King-Lee holiday – has not been negatively impacted by the holiday. Edwards cited a Nissan plant in north Mississippi, with more than 6,000 employees, as an example.

Former Arkansas Economic Development Commission director Grant Tennille was asked about the issue by committee members. Tennille told the committee that a law setting the holiday for both King and Lee could have a negative impact on economic development. Earlier, Tennille said while there were no specifics on whether or not the state would lose business due to the holiday, the impression was there.

“I can’t say how many have been lost but the appearance sends the wrong message,” Tennille said.

Rep. Charlotte Douglas, R-Alma, suggested a compromise in which King would be honored on the 3rd Monday in January while Lee would be honored on the 4th Monday in January. Bell said he was open to the compromise and that the bill would honor both King and Lee.

“Lee abhorred slavery and seccessionism,” Bell said. “They deserve respect, not to be a tool of racial division.”