Google Maps swaps MLK Day for Confederate holiday in several Southern states

It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day across the United States, but if you're searching Google Maps for businesses in three states, that's not the holiday that comes up.

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Three southern states — Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi — combine the observed King holiday with a holiday honoring Confederate general Robert E. Lee. 

And some users have noticed that when searching for businesses in these three states on Monday, Google Maps' holiday alert chooses to observe Robert E. Lee's birthday over MLK Day, which comes up in other states. 

Our own searches for businesses in those three states brought up the Lee holiday notice, while searches in other states brought up the MLK Day notice.

In a statement emailed to Mashable, a Google spokesperson said

The state of Arkansas debated a bill that would separate the two holidays, but it faces resistance from both state lawmakers who don’t want it changed and those who don’t want a separate holiday honoring Robert E. Lee. And, in Mississippi, the city of Biloxi experienced backlash for referring to the holiday as "Great Americans Day." 

Over the last 18 months, several cities across the South, including New Orleans, have removed or renamed monuments to the Confederate general, part of an overall trend of taking down the Confederate flag and other markers following the horrific Charleston church shootings in June 2015. 

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