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

DEARBORN, MI — Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on Monday, Jan. 20 this year, and a variety of services will be closed in Dearborn 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.

• The Dearborn Administrative Center, the 19th District Court, and the Bryant and Esper branch libraries will be closed on Monday, Jan. 20 in observance of of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
• The Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave., will be open from 5:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m. However, the Senior Services Center will be closed for the holiday.
• The Dearborn Ice Skating Center, 14900 Ford Rd., will be open during its regular hours from 5:30 a.m.–10 p.m.
• Curbside trash and recycling pickup in the City is not affected by the holiday and will be on its normal schedule the week of Jan. 20-24.

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.