Bernice King on MLK Day coinciding with Trump inauguration: ‘It reminds us of King’s spirit’

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January 20, 2025

By Kimmy Yam, NBC News

Bernice King, daughter of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., in Atlanta in 2020. (Ron Harris / AP file)

The coincidence that Martin Luther King Jr. Day lands on the same Monday as Donald Trump’s inauguration isn’t a cause for concern, according to Bernice King, the late civil rights icon’s daughter.

In an interview with MSNBC’s “The Weekend” on Saturday, she said the timing provides an opportunity to reflect on her father’s legacy as the U.S. transitions to a new administration.

“It’s wonderful that this occurs on the King holiday, the inauguration, because it reminds us of King,” said Bernice King, the youngest of Martin Luther King’s four children and who was 5 years old when her father was assassinated in 1968. “It points us back to King. It says, ‘When we move forward, we’ve got to do it in the spirit of King.’”

An overlap between the federal holiday — established in 1983 and first observed in 1986 — and Inauguration Day has occurred only two other times. The first was during President Bill Clinton’s swearing-in in 1997, and the second was during Barack Obama’s in 2013. Obama also took his oath of office using a Bible that had belonged to King himself.

Bernice King, who has been critical of Trump in the past for his divisive rhetoric, addressed those who feel “defeated” amid the looming inauguration, calling on Americans to “stay focused on the goal” of nonviolence, a value championed by her father.

Keep reading to learn how Bernice King thinks we need to move forward.

Discover how this day became a holiday.

We’ll post about Trump’s impact on Black America in our breaking news section.

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