Since 1937, the Constitution has anointed Inauguration Day on January 20. Since 1968, Martin Luther King Day has been on the third Monday in January. For the second time in history, this year, these events overlapped.
It is customary for the President to encourage community involvement and pay respects to Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., who dedicated his life to fighting for civil rights. Past presidents have honored his legacy by participating in service activities, paying respects at his monument in Washington D.C. or visiting the MLK Memorial Library, using the day to honor King’s legacy and the ongoing struggle for racial justice.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 20, 2025, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States. His ascension to the presidency comes despite a long history of legal challenges and criminal convictions.
Trump has been charged and found guilty of 34 counts, ranging from falsifying business records to conspiring to defraud the United States. Despite this, he is now the 47th President of the United States of America–a country that, in theory, strives to uphold the values King fought for.
King, by contrast, was arrested 29 times for peaceful protests against discrimination and segregation in Alabama. King was relentlessly demonized in his time, labeled a troublemaker, a communist and even a criminal. Yet, in retrospect, his courage and activism have made him a national hero, a symbol of moral leadership and social justice.
The contrast between King’s sacrifices and Trump’s controversial presidency and campaigns is stark. King’s approach to achieving equality was met with fierce opposition, while Trump was elected to the highest office in the land. The question that looms over this historical moment is, what does this say about the state of justice in America today?
Trump’s dismissive stance toward King’s legacy was further evident in his comments comparing the crowd at King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech with the crowds that attended his rally right before the January 6 insurrection. “If you look at Martin Luther King, when he did his speech, his great speech. And you look at ours, same real estate, same everything, same number of people. If not, we had more,” Trump boasted.
This comparison not only trivializes King’s message of unity and justice but also reveals a troubling disregard for the moral weight of King’s words and actions. The irony is not lost on Fieldston students.
Tallulah Echtenkamp (Form IV) said: “I think it’s deeply troubling that a man with such a problematic history is being sworn in on the very day we are supposed to celebrate the gift of diversity as a nation.”
Moreover, Trump’s inauguration on MLK Day is seen by many as a symbolic erosion of the values King fought for. It’s a reminder that while King’s vision for racial equality and justice has yet to be fully realized, America’s political landscape has changed in ways that some see as regressive. For Fieldston students and others reflecting on the intersection of these two historical events, the day highlights not only the persistence of injustice but also the complexity of how history and leadership are remembered in this country.
In a time when the U.S. faces mounting questions about race, injustice and the integrity of our institutions, King’s sacrifice and Trump’s controversial rise to power forces us to reconsider what true leadership looks like.
