The history of holiday honoring civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. is a complicated one.

It took 15 years after King's assassination before the federal holiday honoring him was made official. The act itself was controversial, with critics saying providing another federal holiday to employees was too expensive and that the country shouldn't add King's name to the small list (Christopher Columbus and George Washington) of private individuals honored with a federal holiday.

It only passed after overwhelming public outcry, including a petition with more than 6 million signatures.

That wasn't enough for all the states, however. At the time the bill was signed by then President Ronald Reagan, only 27 state and Washington, D.C. honored the holiday. Other states followed but it wasn't until 2000 that the holiday was officially commemorated all 50 states. The last state to make it a paid holiday was South Carolina, where the legislature opted to honor King and remove the Confederate flag from its statehouse in the same year.

And then there's Alabama.

In the state where civil rights tragedies and triumphs run deep, we don't just celebrate Martin Luther King Day. Alabama's King holiday has an asterisk beside it: It's also set aside to honor Confederate general Robert E. Lee.

In fact, Lee's name gets first billing: the official state calendar marks the day as "Robert E. Lee/Martin Luther King Birthday."

Lee was born Jan. 19, 1807. King was born Jan. 15, 1929. However, when it came time for the federal government to designate a day to honor King, the third Monday of January was selected. That put the two holidays on a collision course in Alabama.

The combination of a day to honor a Civil War leader, a conflict spurred on at least in part by the South's reluctance to give up slave ownership, and a civil rights leader who fought for the rights of African Americans is more than ironic. It's archaic.

It's time for Alabama to do away with the joint holiday.

Lee's birthday has been celebrated in Alabama since the late 1800s, as much as a comment on the actions of the federal government than on a celebration of the military leader himself. The combination of the two days was for almost the same reason: the feds could pressure states to designate an MLK Day, but Alabama retained the right to make it its own.

Even if you buy that argument, it's outdated.

There are better ways to thumb your nose at the federal government than by combining holidays celebrating a Civil War general and a civil rights leader. Fight for lower taxes. Go up against overreaching environmental regulations. Vote in every local, state and federal election.

There are alternatives.

Alabama is the last state in the country to have a legal holiday to honor another Confederate leader, Jefferson Davis. The birthday of the president of the confederacy is celebrated the first Monday in June. Confederate Memorial Day is marked each year in April. Either of these dates would be not just historically appropriate but culturally aware alternatives to honor Lee and those who fought and died for the Confederacy.

It's time that Alabama follow the example of Virginia, Lee's home state. The state once marked Lee, Jackson, King Day in honor of Robert E. Lee, Confederate leader Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr. In recognition of the problems this presented - as well as the outdated message it sent -the state in 2000 moved Lee-Jackson Day to the Friday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day. MLK Day became a holiday in its own right.

Alabama was the first capital of the Confederacy. Virginia was the second.

It's time we reverse that order and followed in Virginia's footsteps.

Updated Jan. 19 at 2:03 p.m. to reflect Confederate Memorial Day is a state holiday in Alabama.