By Macy Meinhardt, Voice & Viewpoint Staff Writer
As the nation comes together to celebrate its most beloved civil rights leader, the honorary date this year, Jan. 20, coincides with the 47th presidential inauguration of one of the most polarizing figures in modern history.
“There’s a painful irony in a nation celebrating a man whose decisions have perpetuated harm against the Black community while at the same time honoring one of the most prolific civil rights leaders in American history,” writes Dr. Allison Wiltz, who is a scholar in the cultural framework known as Black womanism.
Ironic indeed, the symbolic nature of these two events lends an opportunity for us to reflect on the nation’s future through the lens of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Four years before his death, a packed room of St. Louis University students would hear Dr. King voice the words:
“We must learn to live together as brothers
or perish together as fools.” – Dr. King, March 22, 1964
Dr. King’s rhetoric on unity and nonviolence would reverberate throughout the world for many years to come. In fact, sixty-one years later–as the nation prepares to brace for a presidency marked by rampant polarization, culture-wars and sharp partisan lines—Dr. King’s words and teachings on unity are needed now more than ever.
Why is the Inauguration on January 20?
While figures like Dr. Wiltz and other racial activists decry the timing of Trump’s inauguration by penning op-eds and taking to social media, constitutionally, there is no way around it.
Per the constitution, the 20th Amendment outlines:
“The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January.” The only exception for an inauguration date adjustment is if it falls on a Sunday, which would mean inauguration would take place the following Monday on Jan. 21.
Two other presidential inaugurations have coincided with Martin Luther King Day: Bill Clinton’s second inauguration in 1997 and Barack Obama’s second inauguration in 2013.
For the King holiday, per the designation signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, “By Public Law 98-144, the third Monday in January of each year has been designated as a public holiday in honor of the “Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.”
Getting to the designation was no easy feat. It took fifteen years of varying forms of lobbying and petitions, for congress and the former president to finally sign it into law.
Although the date of the holiday is not bound by the date of the 20th of January, it does adhere to the third Monday of January rule, thus making it the same day as this year’s inauguration.
What Does The King Family Think?
Members of the King family, including his youngest daughter Dr. Bernice King, told The Independent in a November interview that she would have preferred Vice President Kamala Harris to be in this position, rather than “someone who’s spewing hateful rhetoric, who’s not been very kind-hearted and whose policies are not humane in their approach,” as she described the president-elect.
“I know a lot of people are angry right now,” she shared, “but we can’t let that rot in us.”
Although the winds of fate did not favor the King family—or much of Black America—in their hopes for the future presidency, she calls the day’s timing “a small win”.
“I’m glad that if it was going to happen, it happened on the King holiday because Dr. King is still speaking to us,” said Bernice.
