York County may have little time to
declare Martin Luther King Jr. Day as an official county holiday
before the state forces it to do so. We think county officials
should take the initiative and change its policy while it can.
The state House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Tuesday that
would require all of South Carolina's 46 counties to recognize
Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a county holiday. York County is among
a handful of counties that don't close their offices on the holiday
honoring the slain civil rights leader.
York County's policy is something of a compromise. Most York
County employees get 10 paid holidays a year, and they have the
option of taking a paid day off on King Day or on their
birthday.
County Council Chairman Mike Short has argued that the policy is
fair and that the council has heard no complaints about it from
employees. But the Rock Hill and Western York County branches of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have
joined forces to push for a full holiday on King Day.
We think that is both appropriate and practical. King Day is the
occasion the nation has chosen to not only honor the work of King,
himself, but also to commemorate the civil rights struggle for which
he was martyred. The federal holiday was first celebrated in 1986,
and South Carolina begin celebrating it as a state holiday in 2001.
York County now has the dubious distinction of being among the few
counties, not only in the state but also across the nation, that
doesn't officially recognize the holiday.
We think designating King Day as a county holiday also makes
sense on a practical level. All federal offices are closed on that
day; the mail is not being delivered; banks are closed; and many
county employees are taking the day off. How much work are county
employees really doing on King Day now?
The county still has the opportunity to review its policy and
make the holiday official. The motivation for doing so is not
pressure from the state or the NAACP but because it is fitting that
York County join the rest of the nation in celebrating King and the
movement he helped lead.
The House action, however, makes it imperative that the county
act quickly. While there is no certainty the Legislature will
approve this measure, it could -- and the county would lose the
chance to determine its own destiny in this matter.
Short has said the council would consider a request for a change
in policy. Better yet, let him take the reins and propose one
himself.
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In summary
York County should beat state to the punch in declaring
official King Day holiday.
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