LifestyleActivists unite to honor Dr. King's legacy during Trump's inauguration

Activists unite to honor Dr. King’s legacy during Trump’s inauguration

On the official federal holiday celebrating the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, catapulting local and national activists to honor the civil rights leader’s legacy by emphasizing the need for a continued and courageous justice fight.“When it was announced that the inauguration of Donald Trump was going to take place on Martin Luther King Day, we decided … we want people to see the tale of two cities in one District,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, founder of National Action Network (NAN), at Metropolitan A.M.E. Church on Jan. 20. “Everything that Dr. King stood for is at risk with this president and this Congres.” Sharpton, opening his speech with the famous civil rights chant “No justice. No Peace,” held his rally around the same time Trump was being sworn in. 
From Monday’s NAN rally hosted less than five miles away from the U.S. Capitol, where the inauguration was held, to the Jan. 18 People’s March during the day and Peace Ball later that night, activists used the long weekend as a time to advocate for justice policies in the District, nation and world.Angela Davis speaks to The Washington Informer on the red carpet at the 2025 Peace Ball hosted by Busboys and Poets and held at Arena Stage in Southwest D.C. on Jan. 18. (Micha Green/The Washington Informer)Leading up to the inauguration, local and national freedom fighters like Sharpton, Angela Davis, and Nee Nee Taylor of Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, offered insight into the justice struggles of today and offered plans and solutions to address challenges and gain true liberation even despite a second Trump presidency.For many, the federal King holiday (MLK Day) is known as a day on, instead of a day off, using the time away from work as a moment to volunteer in the community, work for the rights of marginalized people and, like the celebrated human rights martyr, promote peace, justice and equity for all. This MLK weekend, particularly with the inauguration of Trump, activists fervently pressed the critical need for continuing King’s legacy in 2025 and beyond.“What is Dr. King known for? Standing up for economic rights, standing up for equal rights, standing up for civil rights and all of that. This president is against equal rights to choose, against equal rights for gays, against the whole question of diversity, equity and inclusion [DEI] — on the record — against voting rights and wants to bring it back to states’ rights,” Sharpton explained. “So it’s not even about me against Trump, it’s about him against Dr King’s principles.”Sharpton called Trump and his second administration “nothing but a test.”

“He’s a test for our collective communities. He’s a test to whether we can get past our sectarian differences and our philosophical disputes. He’s a test of if we can get past our egos,” the NAN leader told the crowd.Pushing back against leaders and companies reversing DEI efforts, Trump’s racist past and rhetoric, and the president’s current outlook on how to address race challenges in the country, Sharpton encouraged the crowd to use King’s legacy to gear up for the justice work ahead.
“What we’re going to do, is what King did. Trump’s talking about he wants to build a society that’s colorblind. Dr. King told us to be proud of who you were. Why do we have to be colorblind? We can acknowledge each other’s color and treat each other equally,” Sharpton declared. “Don’t be blind to my history, equal out what you made unequal. He wants us to be colorblind because then they don’t owe the equalizing. As long as you don’t deal with color you don’t have to deal with the lack.. of equity.”Local Freedom Fighter Emphasizes Importance of D.C. Statehood at People’s March During Saturday’s People’s March, D.C. native Nee Nee Taylor took to the podium to stand up for the rights of Washingtonians.“In D.C., we don’t have a voice in Congress. Despite living in the heart of this so-called democracy, over 700,000 constituents are denied representation. This is what colonization looks like. This is what systematic oppression looks like,” Taylor, executive director of Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, told the crowd during the Jan. 18 march. “But let me tell you something, this is not what freedom looks like.”
Just days before Trump’s inauguration, Taylor pushed against the president’s proposed policies and Congressional actions, while also offering a solution: organizing and action.“We know this person will try to militarize D.C. police. We know this Congress will try to overturn our laws, they did it before in 2023. And we know that the people of D.C. deserve better than this, and we will refuse to comply with leaders who disrespect us,” the longtime local organizer and freedom fighter said. “We need more than symbolism right now. We need to organize. We need to get information.”Chanting “Free D.C.,” Taylor emphasized the importance of District statehood in the fight for justice in the city, nation and world, saying “When D.C. wins, we all win.” “Police in D.C., like everywhere, aren’t keeping us safe, and we deserve a voice and a vote to get laws passed,” she said. “We deserve a voice in the vote, investment in public health, community-based safety solutions, instead of pouring more money into harmful systems that have taken and that’s taking more lives,” Taylor said. Having long and passionately fought for the rights of marginalized communities in the District and nation, Taylor reminded the crowd about all the lives at risk of further oppression and challenges if people refuse to stand up for freedom and equality.
“This fight is not just about partisan, it’s about the people. It’s about our incarcerated siblings who deserve freedom. It’s about our Black trans sisters and sex workers, reproductive rights. It’s about all those who have been criminalized, marginalized and ignored,” Taylor said.Standing confidently and courageously as “a Black woman, abolitionist and a person who refuses to accept a system that was never built for us,” Taylor emphasized the importance of unity in the fight for equal rights and freedom.“The division needs to stop. We are stronger together,” she said. “We have the power to organize, to educate and to resist. We have the power to rise up and fight back. The power is in the people.”After the People’s March earlier in the day, many local and national activists took to the 2025 Peace Ball at Arena Stage in Southwest D.C., to party with a purpose. The evening was an intentional promotion of peace in the District, nation, and world.“We all need peace, but we cannot separate peace from justice. We can’t separate peace from liberation,” Angela Davis told The Washington Informer during the Peace Ball. “And particularly given what is happening in Gaza at this moment, and the extent of which the Israeli government has attempted to inflict genocide on the people of Gaza and the Palestinian people, I think the call for peace is a call for justice, for equality for freedom.”
Davis was one of the many special guests who later offered inspirational words of wisdom to the many people who filled Arena Stage, donning dapper ensembles, dancing to mood-boosting sounds of DJ Farrah Floscett and spreading peace, joy and love with all present. Sweet Honey in the Rock offered their soulful and inspirational sounds to sing for freedom and peace, with the tune “Ella’s Song,” taken directly from the words of the late activist Ella Baker.”We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes,” they sang as the crowd clapped along and listened intently.With an open bar and hors d’oeuvres and sweets galore, the evening was not only a good time— as activists note fun is a critical component to resistance and the freedom fight— but it was also a moment for the equity leaders to show gratitude for the peace work being done and share inspiration to continue the fight.“You all being unapologetically anti-war, being unapologetic when it comes to speaking this truth, that gives me so much inspiration to continue to fight back against those that want our country to continue to fund war, and destruction and death, instead of life, instead of freedom, instead of being able to help people thrive in our country,” Congresswoman Tlaib said. Just as the Israeli-Hamas Peace Treaty was to go in effect Sunday, the Michigan Democratic congresswoman — who is Palestinian — used Saturday night to weigh in on the work to fight against the mass genocide and oppression in Palestine. Tlaib has been at the forefront of the justice fight for Palestine, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and for the American government to stop supporting Israel since October 2023, when the Israel-Hamas War started. “I want you to know the majority of Americans are with us. They’re with us when it comes to saying, ‘We do not want to to fund genocide.’ I want you all to know more Americans know who Palestinians are. More Americans know what it means to live under apartheid for the Palestinian people,” Tlaib said. “It’s because of the work that you all did, but it’s also because of all the people who had to die for our country to wake up.”Former Missouri Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush speaks at the 2025 Busboys and Poets Peace Ball on Jan. 18 at Arena Stage. (Micha Green/The Washington Informer)Tlaib had a close congressional ally in former Missouri Democratic Rep. Cori Bush, who introduced legislation calling for a ceasefire in October 2023. While Bush was not re-elected to Congress, she came to the Peace Ball to assure attendees that her freedom work continues, starting her speech with the famous rap song turned sports and fight anthem “We Ready,” by Archie Eversoul featuring Bubba Sparxxx. “I want to encourage each and every single one of you, even if you have to stand alone, even if you have to lead and nobody else is following, even if you have to lose something, and let me tell you I know what it means to lose something,” Bush said. “I might’ve lost the seat, but what I’ve gained is, hopefully, lives won. Hopefully, people will be able to live now because we stood up for justice, we stood up for peace, we stood up for humanity. And one thing they cannot say is that we’re scared.” She offered inspiration for the fight ahead.“So all of my freedom fighters out here today, I just want to leave you with this: you matter to this movement,  you are valuable to this moment, and if you stop, if you sit down, if you get tired, if you allow yourself to be silenced, they win,” Bush continued, before offering a final call to action. “And so today, no matter how brave you were before you got here, no matter how wonderful you’ve been, no matter how much you’ve marched, no matter how much money you’ve spent to help folks, none of that matters tomorrow, because we have to take it to another level.”

Source: Washington Informer

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