Wilkes-Barre should observeMartin Luther King Jr. holiday
In August of this year, the nation will be celebrating the 51st anniversary of the March on Washington, and the “I Have a Dream” speech. However, we still find the City of Wilkes-Barre is the one city in this metropolitan area that does not recognize the national holiday honoring the birthday of Dr. King by closing its doors.
Scranton has a 5 percent African-American population, Hazleton has a 4 percent African-American population and the City of Wilkes-Barre with an 11 percent African-American population is the only city of the three that does not recognize the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday as a paid holiday, where workers can join their fellow citizens and choose forms of service to their community, honoring Dr. King with a day of service.
The City of Wilkes-Barre recognizes every nationally recognized holiday with the exception of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day. The city has an annual budget of $43 million a year. The cost of observing the holiday is $70,000 a year. That’s less than a penny per day per resident.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday is not a black holiday, it’s an American holiday. African Americans make up 12 percent of the American population and yet it was signed into law as a federal holiday by then President Ronald Reagan. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a true champion of integration, and believed America was at its best, and strongest, when it respected all of its citizens and all of its citizens united together in service.
The Wilkes-Barre NAACP has an online petition at www.wbnaacp2306.org. Help us convince the City of Wilkes-Barre to do the right thing and honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by closing its doors for business on this day.
The federal government, the state of Pennsylvania, Luzerne County, Luzerne County Community College and the Wilkes-Barre Area School District all recognize the national holiday honoring Dr. King. Let the City of Wilkes-Barre demonstrate its sense of community and respect for its residents by doing the same thing, the right thing.
The Wilkes-Barre NAACP will address Wilkes-Barre City Council in August of this year. We welcome your whole-hearted support of this effort.
Ronald L Felton
Wilkes-Barre Branch 2306 of NAACP