Poetic Tongues/Fabu

Poetic Tongues

Mixed Feelings about January 20th

The celebration of the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in 2025, is more different than any of the past celebrations. The main reason for the difference is that January 20, 2025, is also the inauguration of a president whose election was extremely divisive. Voters liked him, his rhetoric and thought he could do no wrong (even when convicted of wrong). Voters disliked him, his incompetence and thought he could do no right, especially since being convicted by US law, and was usually proven a liar through fact checking. There were other voters who liked neither candidate, Trump, or Harris, but were biased  against a candidate who was a woman, part Black and the daughter of immigrant parents, so Trump was their preference too. Our country starts off 2025 on extreme opposite sides.

People who know me, even a little, are aware that I am originally from Memphis, Tennessee. Although I was a child, I witnessed the Sanitation strike personally with numerous family members involved in the strike, supporting the strike, and marching on behalf of the strike. Wherever I am in the world, I always honor the birthday of the Reverend Dr. King Jr. and as well, I never forget April 4, when he was assassinated also in Memphis, Tennessee. My first inclination when I learned the presidential inauguration was on his birthday celebration, was to feel offended. The dichotomy between King and Trump is like a great chasm with few minor intersecting points like both are men and Americans.

I am no longer offended that both celebrations are on January 20. I need the celebration of the birth and service of the remarkable Reverend Dr. King Jr, who gave his life for others, to focus on Black people’s determination, resiliency, and love. While others are celebrating the man, who as president, will escape jail and justice, I will be celebrating with many others, a man who as a minster of the Gospel and ordinary citizen lead the fight to dismantle the evil of segregation and systematic unfairness against American citizens who were not born White.  Was this Black leader perfect? No, he was not, which leaves latitude for all of us to work as hard for better, regardless of our shortcomings too.

I do not need to fill this column with King facts because in 2025, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the best-known, most famous Black leaders in the USA. His contributions to world peace are documented by his receiving the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. More than that, there are still people alive, across every race, gender, and station in life, who marched with him and who were a part of the lived experiences of the Civil Rights Movement and the victories they won together. Americans, in 2025, find ourselves at a familiar crossroad, where too many citizens would rather hate than respect others. These same Americans would prefer to have the right to bear arms, with no gun control, then to keep our children safe in schools, little understanding that the right to life is from inception in the womb until children become adults. Join with me in celebrating Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his perseverance against entrenched racism and injustice amongst a people who no longer recognized or cared about the values of right versus wrong. It seems that in 2025, American memories have grown shorter. Freedom is a continuous struggle, yet it is a fight that each generation must wage to take freedom further. We remember Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and honor him in great ways and small ways especially on January 20 while too many of our neighbors, do not.

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