The current US political climate is spurring a 'reclaim' and rallying on
the MLK holiday
[January 19, 2026]
By TERRY TANG
As communities across the country on Monday host parades, panels and
service projects for the 40th federal observation of Martin Luther King
Jr. Day, the political climate for some is more fraught with tensions
than festive with reflection on the slain Black American civil rights
icon's legacy.
In the year since Donald Trump's second inauguration fell on King Day,
the Republican president has gone scorched earth against diversity,
equity and inclusion initiatives and targeted mostly Black-led cities
for federal law enforcement operations, among other policies that many
King admirers have criticized.
One year ago, Trump's executive orders, “Ending Illegal Discrimination
And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” and “Ending Radical And Wasteful
Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” accelerated a rollback of
civil rights and racial justice initiatives in federal agencies,
corporations and universities. Last month, the National Park Service
announced it will no longer offer free admission to parks on King Day
and Juneteenth, but instead on Flag Day and Trump's birthday.
The fatal shooting this month of an unarmed Minneapolis woman in her car
by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sent there to target the
city's Somali immigrant population, as well as Trump recently decrying
civil rights as discrimination against white people, have only
intensified fears of a regression from the social progress King and many
others advocated for.
Still, the concerns have not chilled many King holiday events planned
this year. Some conservative admirers of King say the holiday should be
a reminder of the civil rights icon's plea that all people be judged by
their character and not their skin color. Some Black advocacy groups,
however, are vowing a day of resistance and rallies nationwide.
‘We’ve always strived to be a more perfect union'
In a recent interview with the New York Times, Trump said he felt the
Civil Rights Movement and the reforms it helped usher in were harmful to
white people, who “were very badly treated.” Politicians and advocates
say Trump's comments are what are harmful, because they dismiss the hard
work of King and others that helped not just Black Americans but other
groups, including women and the LGBTQ+ community.
“I think the Civil Rights Movement was one of the things that made our
country so unique, that we haven’t always been perfect, but we’ve always
strived to be this more perfect union, and that’s what I think the Civil
Rights Movement represents,” Gov. Wes Moore, Maryland’s first Black
governor and only the nation’s third elected Black governor, said this
week in an interview with The Associated Press.
Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and
Human Rights, one of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights
coalitions, said the Trump administration's priorities make clear it is
actively trying to erase the movement.
“From health care access and affordable housing to good paying jobs and
union representation," Wiley said, “things Dr. King made part of his
clarion call for a beloved community are still at stake and is even more
so because (the administration) has dismantled the very terms of
government and the norms of our culture.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The conservative Heritage Foundation think tank is encouraging the
holiday’s focus to stay solely on King himself. Brenda Hafera, a
foundation research fellow, urged people to visit the Martin Luther King
Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta or reread his “I have a dream”
speech delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington
nearly 63 years ago.
But using the holiday as a platform to rally and speak about
“anti-racism” and “critical race theory” actually rejects King’s
ambition for the country, Hafera argued.
“I think efforts should be conducted in the spirit of what Martin Luther
King actually believed and what he preached. And his vision was a
colorblind society, right,” Hafera said. “He says very famously in his
speech, don’t judge by the color of your skin, but the content of your
character.”
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The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial during the 9th Annual Wreath
Laying and Day of Reflection and Reconciliation, in Washington,
Monday, Jan. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Groups call for holiday of reclamation, education and rallying
The NAACP, the nation's oldest civil right organization which had a
myriad MLK Day events planned for Monday, asserted that the
heightened fears among communities of color and in immigrant
communities mean King Day observances must take a different tone.
People will have to put their safety first, even if their government
isn't, said Wisdom Cole, NAACP senior national director of advocacy.
“As folks are using their constitutional right to protest and to
speak out and stand up for what they believe in, we are being faced
with violence. We are faced with increased police and state violence
inflicted by the government,” Cole said.
The Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of organizations
affiliated with the Black Lives Matter movement, has planned its
events under the banner “Reclaim MLK Day of Action.” Organizers
planned demonstrations in Atlanta, Chicago and Oakland, California,
among other cities, over the weekend and Monday.
“This year it is more important than ever to reclaim MLK’s radical
legacy, letting his wisdom and fierce commitment to freedom move us
into the action necessary to take care of one another, fight back,
and free ourselves from this fascist regime,” Devonte Jackson, a
national organizing director for the coalition, said in a statement.
Indiana school cancels historic MLK Day event
For the first time in its 60-year history, Indiana University in
Indianapolis canceled its annual Martin Luther King dinner. Over the
years, the event drew notable guest speakers including Shirley
Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, and activist
Angela Davis.
The reasoning was “budget constraints,” according to a social media
post by the school's Black Student Union. However, the group said it
was worried this was “connected to broader political pressures.” A
few students have since organized smaller community dinners or
“eat-ins” to fill the void, WTHR-TV in Indianapolis reported.
Meanwhile, the St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Westbrook,
Maine, canceled a MLK Day service due to “unforeseen circumstances,”
according to the parish website. But a member of the church's
“social justice and peace committee” told NewsCenterMaine.com that
the pastor was concerned about people's safety amid rumors of ICE
agents being in the area.
Overall, there have been few reports of King Day events being
majorly scaled down or canceled altogether.
In Memphis, Tennessee, the National Civil Rights Museum is going
about its annual King Day celebration as normal. The museum is
located on the site of the former Lorraine Motel, where King was
shot on April 4, 1968. The museum is offering free admission on the
holiday, an annual tradition.
“This milestone year is not only about looking back at what Dr. King
stood for, but also recognizing the people who continue to make his
ideals real today,” museum President Russell Wigginton said.
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Tang reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writers Matt Brown in
Washington, Adrian Sanz in Memphis, Tennessee, and Brian Witte in
Annapolis, Maryland, contributed to this report.
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