By DaQuan LawrenceSpecial to the AFRO
Some 57 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., America stays simply as divided because it was throughout the lifetime of the fallen non secular and civil rights chief. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day within the District of Columbia featured main nationwide occasions regardless of the frigid temperatures that altered scheduling and planning.
Town was divided as 1000’s arrived to attend the inauguration of the forty seventh president of the USA, whereas others selected to honor the legacy of Dr. King.
On Jan. 20 the Metropolitan AME Church crammed to capability as attendees from across the nation traveled to the nation’s capitol to take part within the Nationwide Motion Community’s (NAN) rally, organized prior to now couple of months as a type of resistance in opposition to the incoming presidential administration.
The group modified their plans of marching from McPherson Sq. to the historic Metropolitan AME Church situated on M Avenue for a rally. As an alternative, attendees prevented the chilly and met for the rally portion of the occasion. The Metropolitan AME Church is traditionally vital as a proponent of racial and social justice for the African-American group. It was additionally the positioning of the funerals of Frederick Douglass and Rosa Parks.
NAN is likely one of the premier civil rights organizations within the nation and was based in 1991 by Rev. Al Sharpton. The group works inside the spirit and custom of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to advertise a up to date civil rights agenda.
Through the MLK Day convening, Sharpton mentioned the significance of honoring Dr. King and persevering with his work in trendy society.
“When Trump was President, earlier than he went into the Oval Workplace, he hung a portrait of his favourite president, Andrew Jackson. Jackson nominated the Supreme Courtroom choose Roger Taney, who later was the Chief Justice that rendered the Dred Scott determination that Blacks had no rights,” Sharpton mentioned.
“[Jackson] was Trump’s hero, however on this aspect of city our hero is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Sharpton emphasised.
Sharpton condemned Trump’s racist actions and public stance on scorching subject points such because the demise penalty. He famous the 1989 commercial Trump took out a number of newspapers, calling for the boys accused within the Central Park 5 case to be executed. Final 12 months, Trump doubled down on his views, regardless of the boys receiving exoneration greater than twenty years in the past. Sharpton mentioned this was an essential instance of how previous actions by Trump marginalized can nonetheless hurt communities right now as a consequence of social implications.
(AP Photograph/Erin Hooley)
“The issue is we have now too many people scratching the place they don’t itch, or too many individuals laughing at what’s not humorous,” Sharpton defined throughout his speech. “We fought too exhausting, we’ve shed an excessive amount of blood, and we’ve spent too many nights in jail to suppose that Trump can flip us round.”
Throughout this system audio system continued to concentrate on the legacy of Dr. King, whose work for financial justice spanned across the globe as a consequence of his stance and efforts to eradicate poverty and capitalism. Whereas acknowledging the concurrent actions within the nation’s capital, attendees of the MLK Day rally remained constructive in regards to the potential for Dr. King’s imaginative and prescient of America to be actualized.
“I believe we have now to maintain Dr. King’s dream alive,” Jamie Bland, the president for the Paterson, New Jersey Chapter of NAN, mentioned.
“[Dr. King] wished little ladies and boys to have the ability to maintain fingers collectively in unity regardless of their racial background. Lots of my associates don’t appear like me, however I believe coming collectively is what we have now to face for,” Bland informed the AFRO.
Earlier than concluding his remarks, Sharpton addressed the historic and modern civil rights struggles across the nation, significantly specializing in the legacy of Dr. King and present political figures’ capability to dwell as much as these ideas. He emphasised the duties of previous and current leaders for failing to handle racial justice, and cited the shortage of motion on police accountability and the erosion of voting rights.
Sharpton additionally spoke on the financial exploitation of African labor and the significance of express public insurance policies that advance range, fairness and inclusion (DEI).
“Why do we have now DEI? We’ve got DEI since you denied us range, you denied us fairness, you denied us inclusion. DEI was a treatment to the racial institutionalized bigotry follow in academia and in these firms,” Sharpton mentioned.
On day one in all his second time period in workplace, Trump slashed all DEI initiatives from the federal authorities.
Nonetheless, even with out DEI on the federal stage, Black individuals will proceed to push ahead and obtain success.
“It’s essential to have forgotten who we’re. We’re those that you just took all the things from, and we’re nonetheless right here,” Sharpton informed a packed home at Metropolitan AME Church within the nation’s capital. He then led tons of of friends in an oath to uphold and advance Dr. King’s dream for a simply nation.
Rev. Sharpton’s tackle on Jan. 20 happened on the identical day as Inauguration Day, which is all the time held on Jan. 20. MLK Day is all the time the third Monday in January. The 2 occasions have coincided prior to now earlier than.
Whereas greater than 11 buses of patrons commuted nationwide attendees to the District for the MLK Day rally for NAN, tons of of 1000’s of individuals additionally made the journey to the nation’s capitol to witness the inauguration ceremony. Per the inauguration schedule of occasions, safety screening for the anticipated crowd started at 7 a.m. Solely about 20,000 attendees can be allowed into the Capital One Area to look at the ceremony, as the sector’s anticipated capability is about 20,356.
Upwards of 200,000 individuals traveled to the nation’s capitol to witness the sixtieth U.S. presidential inauguration. Attendees considered the ceremony from the Capital One Area whereas Donald Trump and J.D. Vance took the oath of workplace within the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
Whereas MLK Day and Inauguration Day occasions happened, protests erupted across the nation. In D.C., Chicago and New York residents took the streets to voice their frustrations and issues relating to a second presidency for Trump, who’s now a convicted felon.
Though Dr. King and others fought to decrease racial and financial injustice throughout his lifetime, almost six a long time later the nation stays divided ideologically – a reality confirmed by the duality of the occasions happening within the District on MLK Day 2025.
Bland mentioned will probably be essential for spiritually-led politicians, throughout a political local weather the place America could also be experiencing a return to a earlier period of injustice.
“That is nothing new and folks know that God is in all the things. However these politicians, particularly in 2025 – they’re going to positively have to take care of the Spirit of God, in any other case it’s going to be dangerous for everyone,” Bland informed the AFRO. “I believe we have now to proceed to hope. Politicians should put God first and as soon as they do this, all the things might be operating the best way it’s imagined to run.”
