MLK Day 2011

Very disappointed today.  We have a bit of a tradition at work where whenever we take a holiday off they have me create an artistic sign for the front door to let any customers who might come by the shop know that we are out of the office for the day.  I was asked on Tuesday to create a sign for MLK Day since we will be closed.  This is the image I came up with (edited for my blog to remove the company information).  Normally I would have put more time into developing the design but my time was limited given the intended application of the graphic (and I was on company time) but I thought it was still worth sharing.

I came into work today and the sign was no longer on the door.  I was called into the office and told that I needed to create another sign that did not mention anything about MLK.  The rationale I was provided with was as follows: “We are closing down on Monday solely for economic reasons (many of our vendors and suppliers are closed that day) and not to observe the holiday so we don’t want the sign to suggest otherwise.”  I could understand if they chose not to observe the holiday by taking the day off but to be concerned with avoiding any appearance of honoring this important cultural day is sad and causes me to question their integrity.

Yes, very disappointed in my employer today.  Anyway, I do embrace the legacy of Dr. King and admire his love and sacrifice for his fellow man so I am glad to display this graphic for all to see.  Here’s to unity.