Rev. Al Sharpton talks about MLK’s legacy march: ‘We won’t let them kill the dream’

On January 17, 2025By Littum

As thousands gather in Downtown DC on Monday for Inauguration Day, when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in for his second term in office, another march and rally will be held to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network, said at the annual MLK Day Birthday Breakfast on Wednesday that his group is planning a march at 10 Monday morning from McPherson Square to Metropolitan AME Church at 1518 M St. NW.

Sharpton spelled out the goals of the event to elected officials and civil rights leaders gathered at the Mayflower Hotel on Wednesday.

“Our meeting, let me be clear, is not a meeting to be like the rebels on January 6,” Sharpton said. “We’re not gathering to protest an inauguration, we’re gathering to affirm Dr. King’s dream on Dr. King’s federal holiday — it’s an affirmation march.”

While acknowledging that they are “meeting at a very uncertain time,” just days before the return of a Trump administration, Sharpton added that it is “also at a time of great promise.”

“There’s not going to be one way to deal with this and there’s not going to be one strategy,” he said.

Instead, Sharpton said, “It’s going to be more important than ever that we all work in a unified way.”

He said the goal is to continue the work of the late pastor.

“We respect the process, even if we don’t like the results, but we’re not going to let them kill the dream and we’re not going to let them bring us back,” Sharpton said.

On Monday, Sharpton said he will outline an economic plan for “how we’re going to sustain DEI” — the diversity, equity and inclusion that has been widely criticized by Trump and other Republicans in Congress.

“They may have the votes in the House, they may have the votes in the Senate, but we control our dollars,” Sharpton said. “And we’re going to outline how the big companies that want to end DEI, we want to get them to have a diverse customer base.”

“If you don’t want us in the C-Suite, then you don’t want us in the supermarket,” Sharpton said. “I want these companies to know that it will be a cost to you to cross your consumers and that no one in Washington can make us buy where we are not respected.”

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