Ronald Reagan Opposed Making Martin Luther King' Birthday a National Holiday

Having the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday as a national holiday is something we take for granted now, but in the 1980s it was actually very controversial, and even the President himself, Ronald Reagan, opposed making his birthday a national holiday, saying it would be too much of a financial burden on the nation.

It's hard to imagine now that our President would oppose such a thing, only 20 years before we elected our first black President, but even in the 1980s there was still a lot of hostility towards MLK, and reluctance to give him his due as one of the nation's greatest heroes. It was only after an overwhelming veto-proof majority of the Senate voted in favor of the bill that Ronald Reagan reluctantly signed it into law, and Martin Luther King's birthday finally got its just due.

Ronald Reagan opposed making Martin Luther King' birthday a national holiday
yahoo

President Ronald Reagan opposed the holiday, relenting only after Congress passed the King Day Bill with an overwhelming veto-proof majority (338 to 90 in the House of Representatives and 78 to 22 in the Senate)....In addition to Reagan, opposition to the bill was led by Senator Jesse Helms, who questioned whether King was important enough to receive such an honor. He was also critical of King's opposition to the Vietnam War, and accused King of having Communist connections...

Ronald Reagan opposed making Martin Luther King' birthday a national holiday