Civil rights leaders and King family mark MLK Day as special call to action as Trump takes office

“It’s not a day where he can be the star that he loves to be,” King’s daughter said of Trump. “He has to fight with that legacy that day, regardless of how he manages it and handles it in his presentation. I hope those around him advise him to honor the day appropriately in his speech.”

It is the third time in the almost 40 years since federal King’s holiday became law that it coincides with a presidential inauguration. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were also sworn in for their second terms on the holiday. Both praised King in their remarks; it remains to be seen if and how Trump — who falsely claimed his first inauguration had larger crowds than King’s March on Washington — will recognize the day.

“Will he send a message of unity and a presidency for all, or will he continue to focus on his base and some of the divisive policies he has championed, like an anti-DEI stance, rounding up immigrants and cutting important parts of the social security net through this DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) process?” asked Marc Morial, president of the civil rights group National Urban League.

Morial added that Trump’s inauguration landing on MLK Day represented “a contradiction of values.”

Many civil rights leaders will spend the day commemorating King’s legacy after a week of public and private organizing, giving speeches and planning how to respond to the incoming administration’s agenda.

“It’s the best of times and the worst of times,” said Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, an organization whose members mentored, collaborated and clashed with King throughout the Civil Rights Movement.

“Our mission doesn’t change. Our job is to make democracy work for everyone, to make sure that equal protection is guaranteed under the law,” Johnson said. He added that the group “does not want to assume” that the Trump administration cannot be a partner in advancing civil rights or racial justice.

On Wednesday, Johnson and other civil rights leaders met with Congressional Black Caucus members on Capitol Hill to discuss how to work with and oppose the Trump administration. That same day, the National Action Network, a civil rights group founded by the Reverend Al Sharpton, hosted a breakfast where Vice President Kamala Harris urged attendees to stay motivated.

“Ours is a journey,” she said. “Regardless of the outcome of a particular moment, we can never be defeated. Our spirit can never be defeated, because when that happens, we don’t win.”

Martin Luther King III, the late king’s eldest son, prayed with Harris on stage. King had campaigned for Harris in the fall, calling her a lawyer who “speaks to our better angels” and “embodies Dr. King’s legacy.”

Many racial justice advocates are set to organize demonstrations, vigils and community service events to mark the holiday and prepare for what they see as an adversarial administration.

Some groups reflect on parallels and differences with how King organized in the face of explicit white supremacy in state and local governments and geopolitical turmoil.

“The hostility is the same, especially in that there is a mobilized, active and aggressive far-right hell bent on unraveling rights and any sense of common purpose, common problems or common solutions,” said Maya Wiley, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and human rights. What differs, Wiley said, is the understanding “there has to be opportunity for everyone.”

King himself worried that the legal protections he devoted his life to realizing would not be followed by greater anti-discrimination efforts or social programs. He suggested that it would take white Americans embracing a deeper kinship with black Americans and engaging in economic and social solidarity to see change.

A year before his assassination in 1968, King wrote in his last book that it often required “special treatment” to give a black person what they were entitled to.

“I am aware that this has been a difficult concept for many liberals, as it conflicts with their traditional ideal of equal opportunity and equal treatment of people according to their individual merits,” King wrote in the 1967 book, “Where Do We leave here: Chaos or community.” “But this is a day that requires rethinking and re-evaluating old concepts.”

King’s advocacy of “new concepts” found an heir in the adoption of affirmative action policies in workplaces and schools. Many advocates of diversity, equity and inclusion policies see such programs as realizing his vision, though that argument has come under withering scrutiny from conservative activists.

Trump’s views on race have been criticized for decades. The federal government sued Trump for allegedly discriminating against black apartment seekers in the 1970s. He was instrumental in promoting “feeds” conspiracy theory that Obama was not born in the U.S. And his campaign rhetoric about immigrants and urban communities since 2015 leading up to the November election has been derided as prejudice.

As president, Trump passed some criminal justice reform laws that civil rights advocates praised, but then proposed harsh crackdowns on racial profiling protests in 2020.

In April, Trump did not dispute the notion that “anti-white racism” now represents a bigger problem in the United States than systemic racism against black Americans.

“I think there is a definite anti-white sentiment in this country, and that can’t be allowed either,” Trump said during an interview with Time magazine.

Janiyah Thomas, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, said Trump’s inauguration would be “monumental, turning a new leaf and ushering in America’s golden age” and said Americans should remember “wise words” from King: “We have to learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

At the end of his life, King reflected on the early backlash to civil rights, particularly with integrated housing, interracial marriage, and necessary economic and social programs. He expressed frustration with then-President Lyndon B. Johnson for prolonging the Vietnam War instead of making a major investment in fighting poverty.

“This is where the civil rights movement stands today. We will fail and falter as we climb the unknown slopes of steep mountains, but there is no alternative, well-trodden, smooth path,” King wrote. “There will be painful setbacks along with creative progress. Our consolation is that no one can know the true taste of victory if he has never swallowed defeat.”

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This story corrects that Donald Trump was sued by the federal government in the 1970s, rather than found liable.

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Associated Press reporter Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed to this report.