Critics Blast Decision To Cut MLK, Juneteenth Park 'Free Days'
Two of the nation’s most visible holidays acknowledging Black history have quietly been struck from the National Parks’ roster.
The National Park Service recently shared its 2026 “free admission” calendar with the public, and park lovers noticed some interesting changes. Both Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth were quietly removed without explanation.
Under a new policy taking effect January 1, only U.S. residents will get in free on several federal holidays, including Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Constitution Day, Veterans Day, President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday on October 27, and the August 25 anniversary of the Park Service’s creation.
Last year’s list included free entry on MLK Day and Juneteenth, which marks June 19, 1865, when the last enslaved people in the United States were emancipated.
Civil rights advocates argue the rollback sends a message that Black history and the struggle for freedom are being sidelined. Cornell William Brooks, a Harvard Kennedy School professor and former NAACP president, sharply criticized the move on social media, calling it evidence of racism in federal policy choices.
"The raw & rank racism here stinks to high heaven," Harvard Kennedy School professor Cornell William Brooks, a former president of the NAACP, wrote on X about the new policy.
Advocates also warn that the change will hit community groups that have turned MLK Day into a major day of service at national parks, organizing volunteer cleanups and restoration projects that relied on free entry.
ABC7 shares that Kristen Brengel, of the National Parks Conservation Association, said those efforts will now be more expensive to carry out and argued that a holiday honoring King should be recognized, not removed from the free days list.
Democratic lawmakers are pressing for answers, saying the decision erases key dates that commemorate Black Americans’ fight for civil rights and freedom.
A Park Service spokesperson did not immediately respond to ABC7 when pressed about why MLK Day and Juneteenth were eliminated, while other free-admission days were kept.
