The Perry City Council broke Monday from its four-year habit of observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day by holding its January meeting on Tuesday.
Instead of honoring the civil rights icon who was assassinated in 1968 by postponing its meeting, the following proclamation was read aloud at the council meeting by Perry Mayor John Andorf.
The federal holiday honoring the Rev. King was established in 1983 and first observed in 1986. Iowa has celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day since 1989, according to the Iowa Department of Human Rights. State offices remain open, but state employees are entitled to take the day off with pay.
Some states in the southern U.S. combine King’s holiday with celebrations honoring Confederate generals. In Alabama and Arkansas, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the birthday of Gen. Robert E. Lee are marked on the same day.
