The date was Aug. 28, 1963. An estimated quarter of a million people came to Washington D.C. on a sun-filled day to march for jobs and civil rights. The peaceful protest culminated with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivering a stirring speech that would forever change America.
In August as he ran for president a third time, Donald Trump compared his crowd size on Jan. 6, 2021 to the throngs who gathered to hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic speech. Instead of expressing dismay that a violent insurrection – fueled by him – had taken place that day, Trump bragged about how many people had attended the “Stop the Steal” rally.
In some ways it’s a sick irony – the juxtaposition of Trump being inaugurated on Monday, the same day we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. King was a champion for civil and human rights. He fought for economic and social equality for Black Americans and for all individuals.
Trump? Well, I’ll get to that later. But note: The House Select Committee that investigated the events of Jan. 6 estimated that Trump’s speech drew 53,000 supporters.
Through a descendant’s lens, I wanted to talk with Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King, about the convergence of Inauguration Day falling on the same date that America pays homage to the legacy and work of his late father. I wanted to know how he reconciled this weighty collision.
His answer was simple: It’s through service.
“We’ve been thinking about this for a long time,” King told me via video from his house in Atlanta. “We instinctively knew that whatever happens down the road…we’ll have an election. And whether it goes one way or the other, we’re still going to be needing to turn to each other and not be turning on each other. And so we do that through the many ways of service.”
Monday marks the 30th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a national holiday. It is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service. On rare occasions, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Inauguration Day coincide.
Former President Barack Obama’s inauguration for his second term fell on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013. A private swearing-in ceremony was held Sunday, and a public ceremony the following day, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths — that all of us are created equal — is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth,” Obama said.
In 1997, Bill Clinton was the last president to be sworn in on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Clinton noted that 34 years ago, King had shared words at the other end of the National Mall “that moved the conscience of a nation.”
“Like a prophet of old, he told of his dream that one day America would rise up and treat all its citizens as equals before the law and in the heart,” Clinton said. “Martin Luther King’s dream was the American dream. His quest is our quest: the ceaseless striving to live out our true creed. Our history has been built on such dreams and labors. And by our dreams and labors, we will redeem the promise of America in the 21st century.”
Just a few miles away from where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered that historic “I Have a Dream” speech, Trump will give a speech of his own – setting the country’s course for the next four years. Trump’s inauguration has been moved inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda because of forecasts of extreme cold.
This means only a small group of invited guests will be able to attend the inauguration – a fact that should quash any comparisons of crowd size. Hopefully.
When I asked King on Monday whether he believed Trump would evoke his father’s name, memory or words during his inaugural address, he responded with a wry chuckle: “I haven’t a clue.”
But King does have a message for Trump. He was pensive and firm as he spoke.
“I don’t want you to evoke the words; I want you to evoke the actions,” King said. “Anybody can spew off a lot of words. But what are you going to do to help change the lives of the millions of people in this country? You’ve been chosen as the leader of the free world, and you can’t do that by suppressing people. You can’t do that by denigrating people…You’ve got to make a dramatic change.
“And I honestly, I don’t expect that,” King said. “But I expect that we have to continue to challenge him to be the best that he can be of himself, whatever that is.”
King has his own agenda for America. He has his own thoughts on where the country needs to be. He’s creating his own legacy, while walking in the shadow of his dad.
“The hope is that people double down and rededicate themselves toward the work,” King told me. “This is really about being engaged to finish the work that he and my mom and so many others started. Yet they are greater challenges, in a real sense, because we as a nation are at loggerheads in relationship to division. We always want to exhibit an opportunity for people to come together.”
More: Civil rights activists call for action as King holiday and inauguration fall on same day
Much of that division King speaks of lies at the feet of Trump. There’s certainly a clash of ideals and actions – those of Trump and of Martin Luther King Jr.
Trump’s policies and promises to dismantle racial equity programs and deport immigrants, for example, fly in the face of what King stood for. Trump has become a poster child for white nationalists who are resistant to the changing demographics of this country. And often, King’s words about judging people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin, are bastardized by Trump supporters who take King’s meaning out of context.
So 60-plus years later and we’re still dreaming. The work isn’t done.
King, his wife, Arndrea Waters King, and their daughter, Yolanda Renee King, have decided to double down on their family’s efforts to unite this country and bring it to a place where every American experiences peace, justice, equality and love – the dream of his father, Martin Luther King Jr.
It comes down to one word: community.
“We have to keep going,” Arndrea Waters King told me. “The truth is we don’t have the luxury of giving up or giving out.”
“Realize the Dream” is a national initiative the Kings created in 2024 to foster unity and empower communities across America. But they are seeking more from the movement.
They are asking each of us to get to work. The Kings are setting a five-year goal of creating 100 million hours of community service by 2029 – the year Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 100 years old.
Volunteer in schools? Yes. Clean up your neighborhood? Yes. Work at a food pantry? Yes.
“When we see where our nation and world is, it really says we have a lot of work to do,” King told me. “Individuals can do something which is great, but we collectively have to work on these issues to make our society better.”
Why is this important to King, a man with a name larger than life? Because like his father, he has dreams, too. And the hopefulness that comes with the sense of community, of uplifting one another.
“I’m often asked, ‘Have we achieved the dream?’ King said. “Well, no. We didn’t do it last year. But what’s amazing is every January, we have an opportunity to begin anew, and ultimately, there will be a day where at least many elements of the dream that dad envisioned will become reality. Now that does not mean we’ve not made strides and progress, but it still means, if you took a measuring stick, you would have to say, ‘You know what, we’ve got a long way to go to create this vision that Martin King and Coretta King talked about.’ ”
Like King, I’m not certain Trump is capable of dramatic change. He’s shown us time and again who he is. Trump’s moral compass seems to redirect him to a path of rocky recriminations and grievances. Divisiveness is his calling card.
But we can do better as a country – as a community. We can work to help our neighbors. We can embrace diversity and those seeking a better life. We can teach our history and learn from it. We can love those who are different. We can support women and children and the elderly. We can feed the poor. We can fight for justice and equality for all. We can eradicate hate.
And when Trump places his hand on the Bible on Monday, and pledges to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, let’s make our own personal pledges to combat the acrimony that at times consumes this country.
“We’ve seen chaos for a number of years now,” King told me. “Ultimately, that is not sustainable, if you want to look at it intellectually. But community can be sustainable in many, many different ways.”
So let’s get to work.
Suzette Hackney is a national columnist. Reach her on X:@suzyscribe
