One great American

AP Photo/Eric Paul Zamora

I didn't know this, but Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is one of only four people in the United States who have holidays all to themselves, along with George Washington, Christopher Columbus and Jesus Christ.

It's a fitting and a special honor that should be rare. But, without question, King is deserving of the distinction.

Above, Arianna Yanez, 8, holds a portrait of MLK during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade in downtown Fresno, Calif., earlier today. Just imagine how unlikely that picture would have been just 50 short years ago - a white child holding a portrait of an African-American who was awarded a national holiday. It speaks a great deal to the progress we've made on race in America, but we have a long way to go, too.

AP Photo/Jerry Lara

Faron Lockridge carries the flag during the Martin Luther King march in San Antonio, Texas, earlier today.

Today, as I saw lots of tributes to King on TV, I thought back to one of his speeches that I read in college, Letter from Birmingham Jail. He wrote it in response to a statement made by eight white Alabama clergymen on April 12, 1963 titled "A Call For Unity," which agreed that social injustices were happening, but they believed the struggle against segregation should be fought in the courts not, the streets.

King wrote it while in jail in the city of Birmingham. It's a remarkable piece of work - if you haven't read it (or even if you have), I highly recommend it. It really captures the essence of what King stood for as a pioneer during the Civil Rights Movement.

Today also got me to thinking, shouldn't we have a separate way to commemorate two people who are connected to King, and not how they would like.

Is there some way we could honor Vice President Dick Cheney (right), who voted against the creation of a holiday for King in 1979, but then voted for it in 1983. (Wait, let's modify a quote Republicans loved to use against John Kerry in 2004: "First I voted against the holiday before I voted for it.") I won't even get started on Cheney's spotty record on civil rights while in Congress -- a that's a topic for another blog posting at another time.

How about Evan Mecham (left), the former Republican governor of Arizona, who was impeached, in part for cancelling a paid MLK Day holiday for state employees shortly after his inauguration.

I suppose we could even throw in President Reagan's opposition to the holiday, too. He was opposed to the holiday until it was passed by Congress with a veto-proof majority in 1983. He then signed it into law.

Kind of makes you laugh when you consider President Bush's remarks that Democrats haven't earned African-Americans' votes, huh?

Anyway, this is a day to remember King, but also a day to remember those who opposed him, and also those who were opposed to creating the holiday in the first place.

I'm thankful that more intelligent heads prevailed in Washington, and our government decided to rightfully honor one of the greatest Americans in history.