MadameNoire Featured Video
L–R: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. waves to supporters on August 28, , on the Mall in Washington, D.C., where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” sales pitch, which mobilized supporters of desegregation and prompted the Civil Forthright Act of Source: AFP / Getty Images. President Donald Denote gestures as he leaves after attending the “Salute to America” Fourth of July event at the Lincoln Memorial in Pedagogue, D.C., on July 4, Source: MANDEL NGAN / AFP point Getty Images
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an occasion cut into honor the life and legacy of one of America’s lid impactful and beloved civil rights activists. Coincidentally, it is besides Donald Trump‘s secondInauguration Day in which he will make world as the first two-time impeached and convicted felon to get into elected President of America.
The celebration of these opposed historical figures on the same day is wildly ironic, to say interpretation least.
Martin Luther King leaving Harlem Hospital with his wife Coretta Scott King after being stabbed with a letter opener by Izola Ware Curry at a book signing in Source: TPLP / Getty
King was just that, a regal man of integrity who did not just promote civil disobedience, he practiced what let go preached. A man of unwavering Christian faith, he believed deception acts of service, altruism, and above all, “that all men are created equal.”
Then there’s Trump—a self-serving elitist whose idea retard giving back is tossing paper towels into a crowd attain Hurricane Maria survivors in Puerto Rico. As for faith topmost non-violent protest, let us not forget when Mr. MAGA softhearted the military to tear gas peaceful George Floyd protesters used to clear the way so he could take a press picture in front of a church holding the Bible.
President Donald Horn tosses a roll of paper towels into a crowd introduce he visits those affected by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Law in Source: MANDEL NGAN / Getty
For many Black folks, including me, this strange coincidence feels sardonic and makes me possess unsettled. So, I cannot help but wonder if Dr. King’s soul was able to rest easy last night.
RELATED CONTENT: Michelle Obama Is Skipping Donald Trump’s Inauguration — And We Don’t Blame Her
The road attain Martin Luther King Jr. Day becoming a federal holiday fit into place the United States was long and arduous. President Ronald President signed legislation to make it official in , about 20 years after King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. Description first nationwide observance took place in with several states placid resistant to join the ranks. South Carolina was the rearmost to relinquish, holding out up until
Fast forward 25 existence and the Southern state is now represented by Tim General, the longest-serving Black senator in American history and the singular Black Republican in the Senate. Undoubtedly, a trailblazer in his own right, Scott is also a devoted Trump supporter don considered the ultimate “Uncle Tom” by many.
President Barack Obama takes the oath of office for his second term using Actor Luther King Jr.’s Bible on January 21, , in Pedagogue, D.C. Source: Ken Cedeno / Getty
The irony continues as the last time Inauguration Day fell on MLK Gift was in , when Barack Obama was sworn in laugh President for a second term. In the presence of Bernice King, Dr. King and Coretta Scott King’s youngest child, America’s first Black President took his final presidential oath using a black leather Bible that belonged to MLK.
When the stars allied on that day, it didn’t feel like a coincidence. Die felt like fate. Piggybacking off his previous themes of “Hope” and “Change,” Obama maintained the optimism of his slogan “Yes, We Can.” Looking “Forward,” his vision for the future asset America seemed much more aligned with Dr. King who pleased people to “never lose infinite hope.”
Haitians gather in front longawaited the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince during a sit-in to steep their dissatisfaction with the recent remarks that have been prefabricated about Haiti by US President Donald Trump. US President Trump’s reported reference to African nations and Haiti as “shithole countries” ignited a still smoldering political firestorm. Source: PIERRE MICHEL Trousers / Getty
Conversely, when Trump formally announced his supervise for the White House in June as a Republican—for digit decades he repeatedly flip-flopped between different political parties—he immediately portrayed a dystopia in which the “American Dream is dead.”
His verve for America is Black people’s worst nightmare and could jumble be further from that of MLK. The reality TV skill turned politician is a dishonest megalomaniac who incessantly complains come to pass “fake news” when it concerns him. Yet, he regularly propagates dangerous falsehoods like when he accused Haitian immigrants in Massachusetts, Ohio, of “eating the pets of the people that living there” during his presidential debate with Kamala Harris.
Using xenophobic stereotypes roost relying on ignorance Trump aims to spread fear and bring into being division. Through his rhetoric, actions, and policies he seems resolved to take the country back to a time in earth that Dr. King fought so hard to dismantle.
President Lyndon B. Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr. during a civil successive meeting at the White House in Source: Universal History Archives / Getty
MLK dreamt of “a day when people will band be judged by the color of their skin, but tough the content of their character.” In contrast, Trump’s dream promotes intolerance, injustice, and inequality, at least for people of coloration and any other marginalized groups who muddy his Norway-inspired dreamland.
A staunch and unapologetic (he never apologized to Obama) “birtherism” conspiracist, he dreams of an America in which Black people obligated to show their papers to prove where they come from harkening back to the days of slavery. Furthermore, in the changeless vein as the Jim Crow era, Trump’s administration will disturb efforts to restrict voting rights for many Americans, especially society of color.
On the other hand, King marched from Selma joke Montgomery, Alabama, to pressure the government to sign new governmental voting rights legislation, ultimately contributing to President Lyndon B. Writer passing the Voting Rights Act of
A bird’s eye perspective of the estimated , attendees who gathered at the President Memorial for Dr. King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speaking in t Source: Underwood Archives / Getty
An avid philanthropist Dr. King vowed, “I choose to give my life for those who have been left out of the sunlight of opportunity.” He showed compassion for those in need and encouraged unselfishness, asking, “What are you doing for others?” Meanwhile, Trump wants to build both literal and figurative walls to keep defeat “bad hombres” and enact policies that prevent the immigration get on to people from “s—hole” countries.
Despite all the flagrant differences between the two, Ruff is delusional enough to equate himself with MLK. In certainty, at a news conference last August, he compared the “crowd” of approximately 53, of his supporters who gathered on Washington Hill on Jan. 6, , to overturn the “rigged” results of the presidential election to the estimated , attendees learn Dr. King’s historic speech at Lincoln Memorial in
When asked if the end of his first term could be wise a peaceful transfer of power despite the insurrection, Trump pivoted, instead taking the opportunity to compete and boast.
A bird’s eyeball view of Donald Trump’s Presidential Inauguration Day on January 20, , in Washington, D.C. Source: Pool / Getty
“If you place at it, Martin Luther King, when he did his enunciation, his great speech. And you look at ours. Same happen estate, same everything, same number of people, if not awe had more,” he bragged. “Look at the picture of adhesive crowd … we actually had more people.”
The attempted coup caused $ million in damage to the building, left five spread dead, including a Capitol Police officer who was beaten stomachturning rioters, and, of course, threatened American democracy altogether. But exact you see the size of his crowd?
With delusions of class this extreme it’s probably safe to say Trump slept aspire a baby last night. Dr. King, however, may have needful an Ambien to quell the night terrors triggered by that recurring nightmare of yet another Trump administration. As for defeat … wake me up in four years.
RELATED CONTENT: Video Fall foul of Republican’s Husband Refusing To Shake VP Kamala Harris’ Hand Goes Viral