Martin Luther King’s Progressive Legacy

Today is the official ceremony for President Obama’s second inauguration and the national celebration of Martin Luther King Day. The holiday, which was not officially observed in all 50 states until 2000, honors the civil rights leader and nonviolent activist who led the struggle for African American equality, and against militarism, materialism, and poverty. And while conservatives (and even gun advocates) have seized on King’s legacy to promote their own political agendas, King explicitly espoused, pursued, and defended progressive values:

King Died Supporting A Public Sector Union’s Strike: In King’s final sermon, he called upon the people of Memphis to join together in support of the Memphis sanitation worker’s AFSCME-led strike. “Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness,” King preached. “when we have our march, you need to be there. If it means leaving work, if it means leaving school — be there.”King Compared Poverty To “Cannibalism” And Called For Its “Direct And Immediate Abolition”: King believed that poverty “is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization.” He called for America to abolish poverty by guaranteeing “white and Negro alike” a minimum income.King Called War Funding A “Demonic Sucking Tube” Undermining Poverty Programs: King opposed the Vietnam war in no small part because it diverted precious resources away from anti-poverty programs. “A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor — both black and white — through the poverty program. . . . Then came the buildup in Vietnam and I watched the program broken and eviscerated as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war, and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube.”King Said Poverty Made Him “Question The Capitalistic Economy”: King called for a radical restructuring of America’s economic system. “And one day we must ask the question, ‘Why are there forty million poor people in America?’ And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising questions about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy. . . . You see, my friends, when you deal with this, you begin to ask the question, ‘Who owns the oil?’ You begin to ask the question, ‘Who owns the iron ore?’ You begin to ask the question, ‘Why is it that people have to pay water bills in a world that is two thirds water?’”

Obama will use two Bibles when he takes the oath of office, one owned by Abraham Lincoln, and another by King. “It’s almost like fate and history coming together,” said Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who worked alongside King in the fight for civil rights struggle. “If it hadn’t been for Martin Luther King Jr., there would be no Barack Obama as president.”

The only other time a presidential inauguration coincided with the King holiday was in 1997. In his speech, President Bill Clinton invoked the civil rights icon, saying, “Thirty-four years ago, the man whose life we celebrate today spoke to us down there at the other end of this Mall in words that moved the conscience of a nation.” “Martin Luther King’s dream was the American Dream. His quest is our quest: the ceaseless striving to live out our true creed. Our history has been built on such dreams and labors.”

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Presidential Proclamation -- Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2013

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., FEDERAL HOLIDAY, 2013

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

At a time of deep division nearly 50 years ago, a booming voice for justice rang out across the National Mall, reverberated around our country, and sent ripples throughout the world. Speaking to thousands upon thousands rallying for jobs and freedom, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, challenging America to take up the worthy task of perfecting our Union. Today, we celebrate a man whose clarion call stirred our Nation to bridge our differences, and whose legacy still drives us to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice.

By words and example, Dr. King reminded us that "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle." Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he mobilized multitudes of men and women to take on a struggle for justice and equality. They braved billy clubs and bomb threats, dogs and fire hoses. For their courage and sacrifice, they earned our country's everlasting gratitude.

A half-century later, the march of progress has brought us closer than ever to achieving Dr. King's dream, but our work is not yet done. Too many young people still grow up in forgotten neighborhoods with persistent violence, underfunded schools, and inadequate health care, holding little hope and few prospects for the future. Too many Americans are denied the full equality and opportunity guaranteed by our founding documents. Today, Dr. King's struggle reminds us that while change can sometimes seem impossible, if we maintain our faith in ourselves and in the possibilities of this Nation, there is no challenge we cannot surmount.

Every year, Americans mark this day by answering Dr. King's call to service. In his memory, let us recall his teaching that "we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." In keeping with Dr. King's example, let us embrace the belief that our destiny is shared, accept our obligations to each other and to future generations, and strengthen the bonds that hold together the most diverse Nation on earth.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 21, 2013, as the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday. I encourage all Americans to observe this day with appropriate civic, community, and service projects in honor of Dr. King and to visit www.MLKDay.gov to find Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service projects across our country.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.

BARACK OBAMA

The Kids Inaugural Concert: Our Children, Our Future was held to show military kids how much the country appreciates the sacrifices they make while their parents are serving.

The First and Second families kick off Inauguration weekend by participating in the National Day of Service.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden hosted a roundtable for reporters from some of the leading magazines for kids to talk about Joining Forces.

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