60th anniversary of MLK Jr.’s historic ‘I Have a Dream' speech
Niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Alveda King on what the 60th anniversary of her uncle’s historic speech means to her and what it should mean to the U.S.
"When Will Trump Take Office? On MLK Day, Unfortunately," The Intelligencer's senior editor Margaret Hartmann lamented in a new piece.
Hartmann noted the "depressing" news that President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in to his second, non-consecutive term in office on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The presidential inauguration sometimes falls on the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., which takes place on the third Monday of January each year, close to King’s birthday on January 15.
"If you’re not a big fan of Donald Trump, you’ve probably gotten used to hearing a lot of stupid and/or depressing political news in recent months," she wrote in New York magazine's The Intelligencer. "I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but as the Biden administration comes to a close, there’s another unpleasant fact that may not have dawned on you: The second Trump inauguration will take place on January 20, 2025, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day."
ON MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY, A REMINDER OF THE IMPORTANCE OF ‘UNDERSTANDING OTHER PEOPLE’
View of American Religious and Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (center) at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where he would deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech, Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963. (Photo by Rowland Scherman/Getty Images)
Two other inaugurations have fallen on MLK Day since its inception, including Bill Clinton’s second inauguration in 1997 and Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013.
Hartmann was just as dismayed that Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in the general election, won't be getting her historic moment in the spotlight.
"So, if Kamala Harris had become the first Black woman elected president…Yup," she simply wrote.
But instead, Hartmann regrets, "we’ll be swearing in the guy who spent the first MLK Day of his presidency golfing, and who recently bragged that his pre-insurrection speech on January 6, 2021, drew a bigger crowd than King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech (which isn’t true)."
TRUMP INAUGURATION: DC POLICE CHIEF EXPECTING ‘4,000 POLICE OFFICERS TO ASSIST US’
Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to a crowd during the annual King Day at the Dome rally at the statehouse on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. The event first began in an effort remove the Confederate battle flag from the statehouse grounds. ((Photo by Sean Rayford for the Washington Post))
Trump defeated Harris by 312 to 226 electoral votes, carrying all seven swing states in the process, and also won the popular vote.
In Trump's first term, he marked the 50th anniversary of King's assassination.
"This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Dr. King, who was tragically assassinated on April 4, 1968," Trump said in a White House proclamation in January 2018. "As we approach this solemn milestone, we acknowledge our Nation’s continuing debt to Dr. King’s legacy. Dr. King advocated for the world we still demand — where the sacred rights of all Americans are protected, rural and urban communities are prosperous from coast to coast, and our limits and our opportunities are defined not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character. We remember the immense promise of liberty that lies at the foundation of our great Republic, the responsibility it demands from all of us who claim its benefits, and the many sacrifices of those who have come before us."
MARTIN LUTHER KING QUIZ: HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THESE FACTS ABOUT THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST?
The civil rights champion is particularly remembered for his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963, as well as overseeing the Montgomery bus boycott in protest of racial segregation. He also participated in the Selma March, which helped lead to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, speaks to thousands during his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, in Washington. (AP Photo) (AP)
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Fox News Digital's Maureen Mackey contributed to this report.
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