Monday, Jan. 18 was Martin Luther King Day. It is a significant day because civil rights for all are crucial to the success of a democratic society. Significant because the right to vote is crucial in a democratic society.
In honor of the slain civil rights leader and the movement for equal civil rights, our banks, government offices and schools were all closed on Jan. 18. However, one local school district chose not to observe this federally recognized holiday, the Mancos School District was open for business.
One has to wonder what message the Mancos School District was trying to convey by non-observance? Was it saying that history and progress serve no value and, therefore, deserve no observation?
Was it denying the fact that citizens were once denied basic freedoms such as using the front door, attending integrated schools, drinking from a water fountain or, sitting where they like on a bus?
Was it denying the fact that many have died at the hands of injustice trying to right these wrongs?
Was it denying that racism still exists today and that students currently enrolled may be struggling with the pain of racism?
It is my hope that next year the Mancos School District will join the rest of us in honoring King and his accomplishments on the third Monday of January.
Timothy Prow
Hesperus
