And a little child shall lead them. That seems to be the case with 13-year-old Texan Jacob Hale, who couldn’t understand why two conflicting holidays were held on the same day. He is lobbying to move Confederate War Heroes Day away from the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday on the calendar.
Yes, lobbying.
“Last year that I saw that we had Confederate Heroes day right next to MLK day and that made no sense to me,” Hale said. “I went to a big event and talked to some legislators and I was able to get a meeting with my representative.”
His representative Donna Howard introduced a bill to changed the date of the Confederate celebration…and the name. Instead of Confederate War Heroes Day, she wants it to become Civil War Remembrance Day to honor both the Confederate and Union soldiers from Texas.
Hale rallied his friends, some of who even came to the committee meeting Hale was present at. He’s met with several elected officials to convince the state legislature to change the holiday.
“In terms of getting sponsors, it went pretty well, but it’s pending in committee and its looks like they’re not even going to vote on it, which doesn’t make any sense to me. Why would they spend the time to have a hearing and not even vote on it?”
Hale hopes to encourage people to call the committee members and try to get the bill passed. He says that young people shouldn’t fear becoming active in politics, no matter what their age. After all, he says, it’s the job of the elected officials to listen to their constituents.
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Meet The 13-Year-Old Lobbying to Move Confederate War Heroes Day Away From MLK Day was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
