On a brisk MLK Day, visitors gather Monday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial to honor his legacy. Photo credit: Donald Randle
Washington University students Deborah Mativo and Emma Rhodes have made visiting the MLK monument an annual tradition on MLK Day. Photo credit: Donald Randle
Two local college students mark MLK Day
WASHINGTON— For Deborah Mativo and Emma Rhodes, both business majors at George Washington University, visiting the memorial has become a tradition. Originally from Atlanta, Mativo has been visiting the memorial every MLK Day for the past four years, with Rhodes joining her for the past two.
“I really look up to Dr. King and his faith too,” Rhodes said. “I just think that what he stood for still stands regardless of the situation.”
Rhodes and Mativo were among the scores of visitors visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, a monument that opened to the public in 2011 in honor of the prominent civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1968.
This year marks the 41st observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a holiday established by President Ronald Reagan in 1983 to honor King’s contributions to civil rights. King is the first African American to be honored with a memorial on or near the National Mall.
The two students’ visit came on Jan. 20, the national observance of King’s birthday, which this year is the same day of Donald Trump’s inauguration. Both women expressed awe at the statue’s design and the inspiration it represents.
“I think it’s important to go on this day,” Mativo said. “Every time I come, I’m like, wow. It is just so amazing, like, how they made it and how he’s, like, coming out of the rock.”
The inspiration for the memorial design comes from a line in King’s “I Have A Dream speech: “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.”
King delivered the celebrated speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in 1963. The 4-acre memorial site includes a 450-foot inscription wall that highlights excerpts from King’s sermons and speeches.
“I like rereading his quotes because I forget them a lot,” Mativo said. “So coming here reminds me of all the inspiration that he had to share.”
Honoring King’s Overlooked Legacy
Jay Thomas, a Baltimore native, visited the memorial to honor Dr. King’s impact on civil rights and to reflect on parts of King’s legacy that he feels are often overlooked.
“I came to show my respect to a leader. A very prudent, elite, intelligent man, who really wanted to eradicate the evils of racism, poverty, and militarism,” Thomas said.
Thomas criticized how King’s broader activism is often overshadowed by his most famous speech.
“In school, they only taught us about the ‘I Have a Dream’ part, not really his stance against militarism, poverty and the Poor People’s Campaign,” Thomas said. “Once I learned about that, it took me by surprise and made me want to follow him even more.”
Thomas praised King’s courage in opposing the Vietnam War, describing it as one of the most significant aspects of his legacy. He cited Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? as an example of King’s enduring insights. “It’s an excellent writing from Dr. King,” Thomas said.
Thomas said he supported President Trump’s recent announcement to declassify information regarding Dr. King’s 1968 assassination in Memphis.
“There’s a lot of people, including the FBI and other powers that won’t want those files to be released, but I would definitely support that,” Thomas said. “We want transparency.”
Trump also said he will release records relating to the assassinations of President John Fl Kennedy in 1963 and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
Thomas said he hoped that Trump also releases information on the death of XXXX Malcolm X.
“For black leaders around that time frame who were assassinated, we would love to see that,” Thomas said. “That’s a good step right there.”
Kristianna Callahan and Josh Callahan read some of the quotes from Martin Luther King’s sermons and speeches that line the 450-foot inscription wall at the MLK monument Sunday.
Paying their respects
Josh and Kristianna Callahan, who recently moved to Washington, D.C., from Utah, visited the memorial Sunday to pay their respects.
“I just wanted to pay my respects to a great man,” Josh Callahan said. “I wanted to remember what he’s done for the world and just reflect on his legacy.”
“I came here just to honor Martin Luther King’s legacy and think about how he made the world a more equal and just place,” Kristianna Callahan said. “It’s been nice to read all his quotes around the monument as well,.
Connecting MLK’s legacy, inauguration
In the immediate wake of President Trump’s inauguration, some MLK monument visitors drew connections between King’s enduring message and their hopes for the future.
“I’m not sure how it’s going to happen, but over the next four years, I’d like to see just more unity and peace,” Kristianna Callahan said.
Emma Rhodes, the George Washington University student, reflected on the broader impact of King’s legacy.
“I always get very moved when I come here and remember Dr. King,” Rhodes said. “It’s just like a reminder that no matter what administration, what situation you find yourself under, there are always little people from little places that can make huge movements.”
Design credits: Mariaregina Mendoza
