Mecham gained national attention several days after his inauguration by fulfilling a campaign promise to cancel a paid Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday (MLK Day) for state employees.

Jun 19, 1987 · PHOENIX — Gov. Evan Mecham, under fire by civil rights leaders since he rescinded a holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., announced Thursday that he would …

Dec 23, 1986 · Shortly after he becomes Governor of Arizona next month, Evan Mecham plans to do something no other governor has done: rescind a state holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. …

Jan 15, 2025 · Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrates the life and impact of the activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner. King is remembered as a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement …

Evan Mecham, the governor of Arizonia fullfilled his campaign promise to cancel a paid MLK Day holiday for state employees as his first act in office. He replied to civil rights activists and the …

Jan 20, 2025 · The path for Martin Luther King Jr. Day becoming a state holiday in Arizona was not simple and drew national criticism for its resistance to adopting it into law.

Jan 16, 2015 · The only Martin Luther King Jr. holiday I remember -- really remember -- was in 1988, when there was no MLK holiday in Arizona. A few years earlier Evan Mecham was …

Jan 15, 2025 · Most of the foot-dragging came from the South — except for Arizona. Then in 1987, Gov. Evan Mecham rescinded his predecessor’s executive order enacting a state …

Jan 7, 2025 · Several photographs depicted demonstrations about the Martin Luther King Day holiday, and the group discovered how sports institutions were drivers of social change in the …

Letter from Steve Frost to Governor Mecham, January 20, 1987, re: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Arizona