Lee–Jackson–King Day facts for kids

Lee–Jackson–King Day was a holiday celebrated in the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1984 to 2000 as a combination of Lee–Jackson Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Beginning in 2000 the state observed them as two distinct holidays.

Robert E. Lee's birthday (January 19, 1807) had been celebrated as a Virginia holiday since 1889. In 1904, the legislature added the birthday of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824) to the holiday, and Lee–Jackson Day was born.

In 1983, the United States Congress declared January 15 to be a national holiday in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.. Since 1978, Virginia had celebrated King's birthday in conjunction with New Year's Day. To align with the federal holiday, the Virginia legislature combined King's celebration with the existing Lee–Jackson holiday, in tribute to "defenders of causes."

In 2000, Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore proposed splitting Lee–Jackson–King Day into two separate holidays after debate arose over whether the nature of the holiday which simultaneously celebrated the lives of two Confederate generals who fought to defend slavery and a civil rights icon was incongruous. The measure was approved and Lee–Jackson Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrated separately, with Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the third Monday in January and Lee–Jackson Day three days earlier on the preceding Friday. The Lee–Jackson holiday was itself eliminated in 2020.