King Day no holiday on the Hill

When the Utah Legislature convenes today, senators will be encouraged to push for a change — just as Rosa Parks did.

Parks, who died last year, was arrested Dec. 1, 1955, for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. Her action led to a Montgomery bus boycott and a U.S. Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation on public buses.

"Rosa Parks was a very brave lady," said Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem. "She bucked the system when it needed to be bucked. Sometimes legislators do the same thing."

Today marks the opening of the 57th Utah Legislature, and the 20th anniversary of the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

As always, the Utah Legislature starts on the third Monday in January, a day that much of the nation considers a holiday to recognize the birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The Utah Constitution, however, mandates that the Legislature must open on the third Monday of January, making a conflict with the holiday unavoidable,

barring a constitutional amendment.

Although there will be ceremonies in the House and Senate honoring King, some civil rights leaders say they'd like to see the state's constitution amended so that lawmakers aren't in session on the holiday.

Frank Cordova, director of the Utah Coalition of la Raza, says it doesn't make sense that lawmakers would declare a holiday, and "they themselves go to work on the holiday."

Ron Stallworth, chairman of the Black Advisory Council, said it's insulting that the session starts on the King holiday. He said lawmakers would be "well served" to change the start date.

"It's almost like a slap in the face," said Jeanetta Williams, president of the Salt Lake Branch NAACP.

Valentine, however, says there's no better way to honor King than by remembering his legacy on the opening day of the session. It's a public ceremony, he said, that's available worldwide via live Webcast at www.le.state.ut.us.

Valentine said Utah's heritage is intricately tied to King's legacy as a civil rights leader. King was assassinated April 4, 1968, while standing on a hotel balcony in Memphis. He was supporting a sanitation workers strike.