Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day, Jan 20, 2025, falls on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
This is a sickening coincidence and a harsh reminder that the fight for equality is not finished.
We have not won the battle against hate just yet.
The inauguration of Donald Trump, a man who promotes hate and division, falls on the day that we celebrate King, a man who gave his life for civil rights, love and community.
King was born on Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta. King, a most prominent African American civil rights leader and baptist minister was assassinated at 39 on April 4, 1968.
King dreamed of a world where all were equal, where no person was more or less than another. We have not accomplished his dream yet despite being in the 21st century. This country having just reelected a man who promotes hate, violence and division, and stokes racism is moving backward.
Trump incites hate. He did that very clearly on Jan. 6, 2021, when he asked his supporters to storm the Capitol to stop the counting of the Electoral College votes, a foundational process within American democracy.
Leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, radical far-right hate groups, among others manipulated by propaganda, rioted on Jan. 6, 2021, in their anti-democratic attempt to subvert the free and fair election of Joe Biden.
Trump is a patron saint of violence because he has shown us various times, with the Jan. 6 riots being the strongest example, that he protects violent actors – if that’s what it takes to keep himself in power.
King believed in nonviolence, despite being the victim of a violent murder following other attempts on his life. Segregationists bombed King’s home on the 57th day of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Once King arrived at his house, he was met with a crowd of roughly 300 African American men vowing to avenge King with knives, guns and violence. King, rather than encouraging violence, told the men that the ultimate goal was to “love our enemies.”
King was tested many times, yet he still maintained his position of loving our enemies.
Trump, on the other hand, encouraged violence. Trump had the audacity to call the Jan. 6 insurrection “a day of love.”
King showed us time and again what love is. King had genuine enemies, segregationists and Ku Klux Klan members after him. Trump, on the other hand, his enemies are love and democracy.
King was assassinated because of his positive impact on civil rights and an inclusive United States.
Trump was nearly assassinated in July, but this was arguably due to the hate and division that he had normalized.
Inauguration Day falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and we will have two sides of America being celebrated.
On one side, we have a day that honors the life of a courageous man, whose activism has helped and protected us long after his untimely death. On the other hand, we have a man full of hate trying to undo all the hard-won rights and sacrifices of people from the past, like King, who made for a more inclusive, stronger United States.
We still reap the benefits of King’s activism, though the next few years, I fear, will test us and our adherence to King’s principles along with our own.
Karina Rodriguez, a sophomore journalism major, is a staff writer for the Campus Times. She can be reached at karina.rodriguez3@laverne.edu.
Karina Rodriguez is a senior journalism major with a concentration in broadcast journalism, and editor-in-chief of the Campus Times. She has previously served as sports editor, social media editor, arts editor and a staff writer.
