Across the country, community leaders gathered to celebrate the life and legacy of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday.
Some leaders took the opportunity to criticize the Trump administration. Early in the afternoon, there were no significant disruptions being reported.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrates the Jan. 15 birthday of the civil rights leader on the third Monday of January. He would have been 97.
King delivered his “I have a Dream” speech on Aug. 28, 1963, in sight of the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument in Washington. There on Monday, community members gathered for the 21st annual peace walk and parade in the district. The holiday parade was first brought about in 1977 and has been celebrated in various forms since its conception.
“Established to honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the parade united residents of Ward 8, the District, and the entire region in the national movement to make Dr. King’s birthday a federal holiday,” the organizer’s website reads.
Parade goers will march along MLK avenue in Washington D.C., under the theme: “The Struggle is Real! THE FIGHT IS STILL!”
Alongside the parade, organizers held a health and wellness fair. Participants handed out free groceries and provided resources to support mental health initiatives in the city.
The Smithsonian’s African American History and Culture Museum held events for families, including crafts, balloon art, participating in a service project and viewing a presentation on floral art.
In King’s hometown of Atlanta, Ebenezer Baptist Church held a service in honor of the federal holiday. The church, where King served as a copastor, began to honor Jan. 15 as a commemorative holiday in recognition of the civil rights leader shortly after his death.
The service hosted several key leaders in the church community, including Bernice King, Martin Luther King’s daughter and CEO of the King Center.
Bernice King criticized ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement measures across the country and the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict diversity, equity and inclusion programs during her speech. She compared immigration enforcement measures to retaliations against civil rights protestors.
“If no billy club, no biting dogs, no water hoses, no cattle prods could stop them or turn them around, then no ICE or ICE raids will turn us around,” King said. “It will not turn us around or freeze our efforts to protest because, as daddy said, ‘The greatness of America is the right to protest for rights."”
Bernice King quoted her father’s final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” delivered on April 3, 1968. Her remarks came as the Trump administration has enhanced enforcement of federal immigration law.
To enter America from another country, if not a U.S. citizen, a visa or some other travel authorization is required to be presented at a port of entry.
The Department of Homeland Security has boasted of its efforts to deport immigrants. In October, the agency announced it removed 527,000 illegal immigrants.
ICE removals and other enforcement actions by the federal government has led to mass protests across the country.
“No DEI removals or DEI bans will break our resolve to create a just, equitable and inclusive society,” King added.
King directly criticized Trump over comments he made about the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In an interview with The New York Times, Trump said white people were “very badly treated” in the aftermath of the civil rights era protections.
King said Trump’s statement “rewrites history in a way that fuels fear and resentment.”
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order to end diversity programs in the federal government. The order led to termination of grants and programs, many established under the Biden administration, to promote “diversity, equity and inclusion” in the federal workforce.
“To my white brothers and sisters, the Civil Rights Act was never meant to harm you; it was meant to heal a nation broken by injustice,” King said. “Fairness does not steal from you. Justice strengthens us all.”
In New York City, criticism of Trump continued during celebrations of the federal holiday. House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized the president at an event hosted by the Brooklyn Academy of Music in honor of King.
“I think I can say clearly in Brooklyn, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the only we celebrate here,” Jeffries said. “Not the wannabe authoritarian down in Washington, D.C.”
In Los Angeles, a parade celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. featured marching bands, floats and community groups. The Los Angeles Sentinel, a historically African American owned newspaper, organized the event.
The parade featured notable celebrities including Cedric the Entertainer as part of the festivities.
In Dallas, community members also celebrated King’s legacy and commitment to civil rights in a parade on Monday. The nonprofit Hope, Encourage, Love, Protect – HELP, as it is known by acronym – organized the city’s parade.
“This is more than a parade – it’s a movement of unity, love, and determination,” HELP’s website reads. “Step forward with us to honor Dr. King’s dream, inspire future generations, and show the world that Dallas stands strong when we walk together.”