Martin Luther King Jr. at a press conference, 1966. (AP Photo)
On Jan. 15, 2024, the nation commemorated what would have been the 95th birthday of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Since 1986, the country has observed his birthday as a day of service, officially recognized in all states 14 years later. Despite this national celebration, Black Americans express varied views, many pointing out that while we celebrate King’s legacy, racism still persists.
Martin Luther King Day, observed on the third Monday of January, fell this year on his actual birthday, Awareness Days reported. The holiday is supposed to be a time for reflection, community service, and celebrating his monumental contributions to the civil rights movement.
While many view the nationwide celebration as a positive step forward, others perceive it as an empty symbolic gesture, questioning its significance in the face of enduring racism against Black Americans. King’s daughter, Bernice King, tweeted a call for kindness. “Thank you for your love and kindness today. I remain hopeful that we will defeat injustice without destroying each other. I believe these words from my father, spoken the night before he was assassinated. We will get there,” she posted.
Others noted the lack of progress Black Americans have made. “I’m not a huge fan of MLK Jr. Day anymore because every year I’m increasingly embarassed by how far we are from being free,” Irami Osei-Frimpong.
In a separate post, The Moguldom Nation tweeted, “A Black Board member means nothing, in the MLK scope of things. He wasn’t focused on a few negroes getting contracts and hired at the top. His name shouldn’t be used in this “dirty Democrat diversity” way, towards tokenism.” The tweet was in response to a post by journalist Roland Martin in which he wrote, “If any corporation puts up a quote from MLK or his photo and they have no Black board members, do a paltry number of contracts with Black-owned companies, and don’t recruit at HBCUs, then blast em. We are not allowing the pimping of MLK’s name to continue in 2024. NOT AGAIN.”
Non-Human Media used the day to call for reparations.
“No amount of gold could provide an adequate compensation for the exploitation and humiliation of the Negro down through the centuries. Not all the wealth in this affluent society could pay the bill. Yet a price can be placed on unpaid wages,” the user tweeted.
Activist Ja’Mal Green, who ran for mayor of Chicago in 2019 and 2023, tweeted, “I hate this holiday, but I love Dr. King. I hate it because it’s a day where all of our current oppressors get to use MLK like they care about black people when they don’t. Plus, a lot of black people aren’t accountable for their part in our suffering. There is NOTHING MLK would be proud of today.”
The post continued, “The racial wealth gap is larger, we are more dependent on government than before, we’ve been redlined by banks, our youth are poorly educated and hundreds of thousands killed senselessly. Our leadership was INSTALLED to keep up the oppression. I don’t even want to hear the current democrats while they are gutting voter rights, not passing any laws to benefit us but a damn symbolic Holiday. I don’t want to hear any leadership that prioritizes other ethnic groups, migrants, banks, etc and leave us to suffer. Keep MLK’s name out your mouth until you find some guts to stand up against to your puppeteers!”
Former chairperson of the California Reparations Task Force, lawyer Kamilah Moore tweeted a push for reparations, “Today at the 39th Annual Kingdom Day Parade, I’m advocating for reparations in California, including SB-490, to honor Dr. MLK Jr.’s vision. Let’s strive for justice together!”
Martin Luther King Jr. at a press conference, 1966. (AP Photo)
