MLK Day 2020: Here’s What’s Open, Closed In Atlanta

ATLANTA, GA — Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on Monday, Jan. 20 this year, and a variety of services will be closed in Atlanta 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 impact your routine.

• Atlanta Government Offices: Closed

• Atlanta Public Schools: No school for students.

• Atlanta Public Library: Libraries in Fulton County will be closed.

• Atlanta Rec Center: Open

• Post Offices: Post Offices will be closed and there will be no mail delivery with the exception of Priority Mail Express, which is available 365 days a year. Post Offices will reopen and regular mail deliveries will resume Tuesday, Jan. 21.

• State Courts: Closed

Transportation:

• MARTA bus service, rail and rail streetcars will run, but on a modified Saturday schedule.

Trash and recycling:

• Trash in Atlanta will not be collected. Waste collection is delayed one day for the remainder of the week.

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.