Civil rights leaders and King family mark MLK Day as a special call to action as Trump takes office
Source: ABC News/AP
January 19, 2025, 1:00 AM
WASHINGTON -- When President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in as president of the United States inside the Capitol’s rotunda, he will do so facing a bust of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on the federal holiday commemorating King’s legacy. It's a disquieting contrast for some civil rights advocates who wish to fulfill the late reverend's dream of non-violent social revolution.
Events honoring King and advocating for his vision of a just society will occur across the nation as many in the U.S. observe the peaceful transfer of power in the capital. The concurrent events have been met with mixed feelings by civil rights leaders, who broadly reviled Trump’s rhetoric and stances on race and civil rights during his third presidential campaign.
But many leaders, including King's own family, see the juxtaposition as a poignant contrast and a chance to refocus the work of advancing civil rights in a new political era. “I’m glad it occurred on that day because it gives the United States of America and the world the contrast in pictures. Is this the way you want to go — or is this the way you want to go?” said the Rev. Bernice King, the late King’s youngest daughter and CEO of the King Center.
“It’s not a day that he can be the star, which he loves to be,” King’s daughter said of Trump. “He has to contend with that legacy on that day, regardless of how he manages it and handles it in his presentation. I hope those around him are advising him well to honor the day appropriately in his speech.”
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