Trump's inauguration will overlap with MLK Day in rare occurrence
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President-elect Trump, and former Presidents Obama and Clinton. Photos: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Stringer, Ian Forsyth/Stringer, Leigh Vogel/Stringer via Getty Images
President-elect Trump's Jan. 20 swearing-in will be one of the few inaugurations to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Why it matters: Trump's second inauguration is only the third to take place on the federal holiday.
- Former President Bill Clinton's 1997 inauguration was the first, and former President Barack Obama's 2013 ceremony was the second. (Obama took his oath that year using a Bible that belonged to King.)
The big picture: While some Black Americans have called on the country to ignore the inauguration due to Trump's repeated use of bigoted language, the King family is calling for attention and engagement.
What they're saying: Bernice A. King, the late civil rights leader's daughter, posted on Instagram last month that she understood the desire to tune out Jan. 20 but said it was important to "pay attention" to Trump's language.
- She said that activists cannot develop "a strategic, love-centered strategy for addressing language and legislation" if they are not also strategic in listening and leadership.
- "This is not the time for ignorance."
"The King holiday is a moment to renew and ask ourselves whether we've achieved the dream my parents envisioned. The truth is, we have not. But every January offers a chance to begin again," King's oldest son, Martin Luther King III, tells Axios.
- "My mother always wanted the holiday to be a 'day on,' not a 'day off.' It's about service and engagement, not relaxation."
The intrigue: The holiday isn't the only unusual overlap with Trump's inauguration — flags will also be flying at half-staff in honor of the late former President Jimmy Carter.
State of play: The King Center in Atlanta will host a commemorative service the morning of Jan. 20 that will be streamed live.
But if you'd like to honor King around D.C. over the long weekend, there are several ways:
- The annual Peace Walk and Parade will be held Jan. 18 at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southeast.
- In honor of the holiday, the National Park Service will host volunteer events on Jan. 18, and the Rock Creek Conservancy will have cleanup events Jan. 18 and 19.
- The Kennedy Center will honor King with a musical tribute Jan. 19, hosted by the actor Taye Diggs.
- And on the Jan. 20 holiday, the Rev. Al Sharpton will lead a National Action Network rally and march downtown.
Context: During the campaign, Trump repeatedly said undocumented immigrants were "poisoning the blood of our country," language echoing the rhetoric of white supremacists and Adolf Hitler.
- Trump also compared himself to King and suggested he drew a crowd size to his first inauguration that was similar to King's he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington in 1963.
- Trump also called North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson "Martin Luther King on steroids." Robinson lost his race for governor last year following a CNN story that alleged he called himself a "Black NAZI" on a porn site.
Zoom out: After Trump's win, Martin Luther King III told dejected supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris to "keep moving forward."
- King III and his wife, Arndrea Waters King, spearheaded the creation of a Black-Latino coalition in the days before the election.