The Irony of The Calendar: MLK Day and Donald Trump’s Inauguration Fall On Same Day

During the final months of the 2024 presidential election, millions of Americans pointed to January 20, 2025, as a day ripe with historic possibilities: there was hope the Martin Luther King federal holiday might share the spotlight with the inauguration of the first Black woman president, Vice President Kamala Harris who was the Democratic Party’s nominee. But the dream of so many did not materialize, and Donald J. Trump stood in the Capitol Rotunda this bitterly cold Monday and took the oath of office as America’s next president.

In Atlanta at Ebenezer Baptist Church, King’s youngest child, Dr. Berniece King, reminded the audience of the dual celebration, saying for some the day represented the “best of times” while for others, it symbolized the “worst of times.”

The attorney and president of the King Center added, “As we commemorate the King holiday, we find ourselves at a critical crossroads,” she said. “I urge every one of us to say, ‘Yes,’ to the power and the strength of love, and I urge us to heed my father’s call when he said, ‘One of the great liabilities of history is that too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change’” .

Conservatives have decried “woke” politics as a criticism of America’s history, citing efforts to make the nation more diverse, equitable and inclusive as detrimental to its traditions and founding.

To applause that rang throughout the historic church her father and grandfather pastored, King offered a dramatically different interpretation.

She explained, “To be woke is to be aware of oppression and committed to justice. We must not slumber through this critical moment in our nation’s history. “We say, ‘We will not go back. And not only that, we will not close our eyes. We will not be silent –  in the spirit of love – in the spirit of determination, we declare we will remain awake because too much is at stake.’”

On social media, messages circulated urging a national blackout of the inauguration broadcasts as Trump and his supporters entered another day of celebrations including his signature rallies and traditional inaugural festivities. The Black Conservative Federation hosted the “Legacy of Freedom Ball” last night and planned more observations.

But the majority of Black Americans, who supported Harris in the election, focused on the federal holiday dedicated to Martin Luther King, the civil rights icon. In Washington, D.C., last week on King’s birthday, he was remembered for his historic work at the annual MLK Breakfast and his ultimate sacrifice, assassinated in 1968 on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.

This year’s inauguration was the third time a president has been sworn in on MLK Day; the first was President Bill Clinton, and President Barack Obama’s second inauguration occurred on January 20, 2013.