On Monday, Jan. 20, Donald Trump was sworn into office for his second term as president. The occasion was filled with rambling tirades on 25th president William Mckinley, saluting speeches to President Trump from his various allies and a celebration of going backward. Monday, Jan. 20 was more than an anointment of a demagogue, it was a day honoring a great American leader whose leadership far transcends that of President Trump’s. This year, Jan. 20 fell on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an annual holiday that is meant to embody the values that King championed throughout his life, including equality, justice, hope, love and freedom. Many Americans look back on Jan. 20 as a doomsday of sorts, associated with fear, hopelessness and shock. President Trump’s inauguration certainly warrants these feelings, but Jan. 20 also ought to be remembered as a reminder that King’s message still serves us and are particularly relevant in today’s political climate.
For many, the days that have followed cast a shadow over the country. As we look at the headlines, we see things like, “Trump threatens funding for schools that accommodate transgender children.” This is only one part of Mr. Trump’s agenda to erase the legal existence of trans people, in step with his denial of new passports for non-binary Americans and his ban on transgender Americans from serving in the armed forces. For many in America, and especially at Lewis & Clark, these headlines can only warrant fear.
As students, we fear Trump’s freeze on federal loans and grants could freeze student aid and remove us from institutions we have worked hard to attend but cannot afford on our own.
This week, the headline “Trump plans to build mass detention camp for deportees at Guantanamo Bay,” was especially alarming. Not only are military encampments for specific ethnic groups in extra-judicial territory have a poor track record, but the prospect of “mass detention centers” is an evocative image to many Americans. It reminds us of our past, of Japanese internment camps, where American citizens were confined against their will for the cause of “national security” for their ethnicity. It reminds us of the reservations to which Native Americans were confined as white Americans settled the West. These did not happen in isolation. It is also very important to remember that 59% of Americans supported the internment of Japanese-American citizens. The reservations were and are not, even thought of or discussed by many Americans.
A January poll for the Wall Street Journal found 52% of Americans support detaining and deporting “millions of undocumented immigrants.” Though not overwhelming, it is a majority. President Trump himself was swept into power, winning the popular vote and sending his party into control of all branches of government. To some, this mandate is evidence that the American people have blessed President Trump and all his actions in office. All this to say, it appears that unjust actions have popular support. Indeed, these are troubling times.
Undoubtedly, there have been troubling times before. We hold up Martin Luther King Jr. as a hero of the American story. King’s vision was rooted in the belief that justice and fairness should extend to all, and his message of hope continues to have us aspire toward a more inclusive and equitable society.
But in his own day, King was not so revered. In 1966, just two years before his death, and notably after the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, 63% of Americans viewed King as “unfavorable.” King’s dedication to protest was informed by the time: when all Americans were not granted civil rights, and millions were barred from existence in public spaces. These, too, were troubling times.
After his death, the idea of an MLK day was not seen as some certainty, and was controversial to some. This battle lasted nearly two decades until the holiday was ratified in 1983. King’s legacy was not popular or admired in the way it is today. In the face of troubling times, King fought not for favor, but for justice. This fight was done largely in the face of fear of death and violence. We must also remember the value of struggle in the face of fear, just as King did. Despite the onslaught of executive orders and political moves that for good reason inspire hopelessness and despair, we must not be complacent.
It is this part of King’s legacy we must remember. The struggle may take time and it may not be easy or popular. We do not do these things for favor, but for justice. Looking forward, it is important to remember King’s famous words: “The time is always right to do what’s right.”
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