Letters: Trash collectors deserved MLK holiday off

Along with the rest of the nation, our city paused on Jan. 16 to recognize and celebrate the many contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But while federal, state, county and other governmental agencies were closed, the sanitary workers of Columbia were in our neighborhood early on Monday morning, going about their work as usual.

This strikes me as a bit convoluted, given that the week prior to his assassination on April 4, 1968, Dr. King had visited with the African-American sanitary public works employees in Memphis to support them in their strike for higher wages and better treatment. Of all our public servants who are given the day off to commemorate the contributions and sacrifices of Dr. King, trash collectors should be at the top of that list.

This story was originally published January 29, 2017 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Letters: Trash collectors deserved MLK holiday off."