State government offices closed Monday in Alabama for Confederate Memorial Day.
Alabama has an official state holiday commemorating Confederate soldiers killed in the Civil War. It is observed on the fourth Monday in April.
A group holds an annual commemoration on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol. Participants typically dress in Confederate costumes and pay tribute to ancestors who died fighting for the South.
An organization called Faith in Action also planned a Monday event to urge the state to rethink the appropriateness of the holiday.
Georgia used to mark the holiday, but removed the Confederate reference in 2015.
(Associated Press, copyright 2018)
