WASHINGTON, DC, January 21, 2013 - America continues to make history with the second inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. President Obama is, of course, the first Afro-American man elected President of the United States.
Officially, President Obama took the oath of office for a second time on Sunday, January 20, with his wife by his side. The public ceremony marking the inauguration will take place on Monday, January 21, 2013.
As a coincidence or fate would have it, January 21, 2013 is also the day the country celebrates civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The re-election of President Obama personifies Dr. King’s dream “…That men are not to be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character,” and he would have been honored to see the public celebrate that victory on the day set aside to honor his legacy.
With MLK Day and the public inauguration falling on the same day, it is only natural to compare Dr. King and Barack Obama. Both Barack Obama and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. won the Nobel peace prize. Dr. King is the only African-American to have a federal holiday in his honor, and Barack Obama is the only African-American to serve in the White House.
Yet they stand on very different platforms in ways to bring change for the Afro-American communities and have little of substance in common.
Dr. King struggled to bring justice for all American’s, and President Obama benefited from the benefits he created.
Additionally, President Obama is a Democrat, and Dr. King was a Republican. Given the circumstances of that era in America people, it is understandable why Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. would choose the Republican Party. It was the Republican Party which fought to free black people from slavery and amended the Constitution to grant full citizenship rights to all Americans.
Dr. King was a man of the people for the people. He gave his life in the fight to win respect and acceptance for black Americans, for all Americans.
Designating a federal holiday in Dr. King’s honor and the inauguration of Barack Obama show that the United States has indeed come a long way.
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