Mississippi City In Hot Water For Celebrating MLK Day As ‘Great Americans Day’

Today is Martin Luther King Day. The third Monday of January has been a federal holiday since 1986. However, not every state has celebrated MLK Day since it's inception in 1986. In fact, it wasn't until the year 2000 that the final state started to recognize the holiday. And if you're going to guess which state, don't immediately start thinking of the south. It was actually New Hampshire that was last to recognize MLK Day as a holiday.

Now, to the south. There are three states that actually celebrate two things on the third Monday of January. The three states are Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama. And along with MLK Day, they celebrate Robert E. Lee Day. Lee, the leading commander of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

So, the city of Biloxi sent out a tweet that said their offices would be closed because they were observing 'Great Americans Day'. This caused quite the stir on social media and in response to the outrage:

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said that when workers return on Tuesday, the city council should move to update its laws to reflect the federal name of the holiday.

And yes, you read that right. Apparently the Mayor's nickname is FoFo.