Happy Lee-Jackson-King Day!
It’s just a Virginia thing so no one else really knows what that means, but when I was a kid, we celebrated Lee-Jackson-King Day. Not that there was any actual “celebrating” in school, but that’s what I remember the day being called.
Today used to be the day to celebrate the birthdays of Robert E. Lee, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and Martin Luther King, Jr. In 2000, Virginia decided to split the holidays so today is officially just King Day while this past Friday was Lee-Jackson Day.
I guess it is kind of silly to lump all three guy’s birthdays on the same day as the first two had nothing to do with the third guy. Maybe they just didn’t want to create any more holidays.
There are alot of people that are “offended” by there being any day to honor Civil War heroes. In Virginia though, Lee and Jackson were icons, and there are alot of people descendant from soldiers that fought for the South, and that heritage is very important to them. To honor them is not to say that you wish there was still slavery, it is to remember that they were Americans who fought and died for their country and a cause in which they believed wholeheartedly.
And today, as you watch and listen to countless newscasts and shows about Martin Luther King, Jr., remember that his dream of a color-blind society is being twisted and warped by many leaders of all colors. Take some time and listen to his words, and see if they actually apply to what’s happening in the world today.