What's Open, Closed For MLK Day 2020 In Douglas County

DOUGLASVILLE, GA — Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on Monday, Jan. 20, this year, and a variety of services will be closed in Douglasville and Douglas County on the day.

King’s birthday is Jan. 15, but the federal holiday celebrating the civil rights leader is observed on the third Monday of January each year.

Here’s a breakdown of how the holiday could affect your routine.

Day of Service: Join Keep Douglasville Beautiful to celebrate MLK Day by beautifying Douglas County High School with the planting of 63 trees. This event is open to the public. Volunteers are asked to bring gloves, shovels, hard rakes and pitchforks if they have them. Meet at 9 a.m. at Douglas County High School. Contact Keep Douglasville Beautiful at 678-449-3138 or Email info@keepdouglasvillebeautiful.org.

City of Douglasville: Douglasville City Hall, City Hall Annex, Parks & Recreation, and Municipal Court and Records will be closed Jan. 20 in observance of the Martin Luther King Holiday. The Police Department will maintain normal operations. City Sanitation services will not pick up residential garbage on Monday.

Douglas County Schools: All school buildings are closed for the holiday on Monday.

Government services:

• Douglas County and Georgia state offices will be closed.
• Cedar Mountain Landfill is closed.
• Connect Douglas will follow its normal operating schedule for fixed route, paratransit and FLEX services.
• Douglas County Public Library is closed on Monday

Shopping/Movies:

• Arbor Place Mall in Douglas County will be open on Jan. 20.
• AMC Movie Theaters is open that day.

The history of the MLK holiday in America is a complicated one.

Almost immediately after King’s assassination in 1968, activists began pushing for a holiday celebrating his Jan. 15 birthday. However, the official national holiday wasn’t signed into law until 1983 by President Ronald Reagan.

The first federal MLK Day was observed on the third Monday of January in 1986, but many states held out. Arizona didn’t recognize the day until 1992, when the state lost its rights to host the Super Bowl after voters in Arizona failed to make the day a paid holiday.

The last state to adopt the holiday? New Hampshire, in 1999.