What's Open, Closed On MLK Day 2022 In Dacula

DACULA, GA — The life and legacy of civil rights icon and Georgia native Martin Luther King, Jr. will be celebrated on Monday, Jan. 17 this year, with a variety of services in Dacula being altered or closed for the federal holiday.

The road to this federal holiday status was not an easy one. Almost immediately after King's assassination in Memphis on April 4, 1968, some activists and legislators proposed a bill pushing for a federal holiday to commemorate his Jan. 15 birthday — but the bill failed to make it through Congress multiple times until it finally passed in 1983, according to National Geographic.

Former President Ronald Reagan immediately signed the legislation, but the first federal holiday was not celebrated until three years later in 1986. Even then, some Southern states — Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi, states that long resisted desegregation — grouped MLK Day with a holiday the three states already celebrated: Robert E. Lee Day, which was dedicated to the anniversary of the Confederate leader's Jan. 19 birthday, National Geographic reported.
It wasn't until 2000 that MLK Day was nationally recognized — but even today, Alabama and Mississippi still package MLK Day with Robert E. Lee Day.

King was an advocate for nonviolent social change and the most famous leader of the civil rights movement. His essays and speeches continue to inform discussions and education around race and civil rights, particularly his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

Here's a breakdown of how the holiday could impact your routine:

• Government offices: All Gwinnett County services — except those required for public safety, such as law enforcement and fire and rescue — will be closed Monday. City of Dacula offices also will be closed Monday.
• Libraries: Gwinnett County libraries will be closed Monday.
• Schools: Gwinnett County Public Schools will be closed Monday