MLK Day 2020: What's Open/Closed In Portsmouth

PORTSMOUTH, RI — Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on Monday, Jan. 20 this year, and a variety of services will be closed in Rhode Island 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.

• Retail stores: Open at owner's discretion
• Liquor stores: Open
• Supermarkets: Open
• Convenience stores: Open
• Restaurants, bars: Open
• Banks: Closed
• Libraries: Closed
• Stock market: Closed
• Municipal, state, federal offices: Closed
• Mail: Post offices closed; express delivery only
• RIPTA: Sunday/Holiday schedule
• Trash Collection: Most towns with pickup are delayed by one day. Check with your local public works department if you're unsure.

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.