Kentucky government officials, writers and activists reflected on Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and the responsibility to continue it for Lexington’s annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration.
The celebration was held on Monday, Jan. 20 in Rupp Arena. Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton welcomed attendees to the event followed by video messages from University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
“As we gather to honor the legacy of Dr. King, we’ll reflect on the journey that inspired us, the progress that we’ve made and you better believe we will talk about the work we know that is ahead of us,” master of ceremonies for the event, Christian Motley, said.
The event included performances by the First Baptist Bracktown Praise Team and a memorial for people who had passed away. Kentucky State University and Bluegrass Community and Technical College also presented scholarships at the event.
This year, Martin Luther King Day and the presidential inauguration took place on the same day. Motley said the circumstances brought forth a greater responsibility to channel King’s messages and ideas.
“As committed as Dr. King was to the nonviolent struggle for human rights, it was in that struggle that he challenged this nation to be as good as the basic tenets of its democracy,” Motley said. “In Washington right now, a great many of our fellow Americans are witnessing a peaceful transfer of power, that’s a good thing.”
Rev. Dr. Nyle Fort, a minister and scholar who has spoken at Harvard and Princeton among other universities, delivered the keynote address titled “Where do we go From Here: Community or Chaos?”
Poet and activist Nikki Giovanni was originally slated to speak at the event, but passed away in December 2024. Fort spoke in her place.
Kentucky poet Laureate Frank X Walker also spoke at the event and recited a poem in tribute to Giovanni.
Fort reflected on King’s legacy and impact on American society and racial equality, but also discussed what he called a “whitewashing of King’s activism.”
Fort said when Martin Luther King Day was made a federal holiday, the Ronald Reagan administration framed King’s activism to emphasize law and order rather than civil rights.
“The irony is astounding. By co-opting Dr. King’s legacy, White and even some Black conservatives are able to oppose civil rights legislation such as affirmative action,” Fort said.
Fort talked about King’s journey growing up under Jim Crow and segregation, his exposure to racism and poverty and how he came to be a preacher.
“We don’t honor him because he was perfect … we celebrate him because he was prophetic and courageous and because a village raised him to be a dreamer willing to die to make the dream come true,” Fort said.
Fort said King’s legacy is not rooted in the past, but rather in a contest over the future. He said King’s legacy should not be used to “confirm our national illusions.”
Fort defined a national illusion as the idea that the United States stands for liberty and justice while at the same time being a world leader in mass incarceration.
“King the myth is not King the man,” Fort said. “Yes, King had a dream, but he also knew about the nightmare.”
Fort said King’s ideas were ones that challenged the status quo of both the political and economic system in the U.S. He said King’s ideas involved the redistribution of wealth, demilitarization and equality.
According to Fort, King advocated for the whole of American society to change and that his interests included economic justice along with racial justice.
“The truth is that our dark past continues to shadow our present moment … Donald Trump is not an aberration of American history, he is an elaboration of the underside of that history,” Fort said.
Fort said Trump’s reelection was an affirmation of the ideas that persisted throughout King’s life and continued to the present.
“He simply embodies the nastiness of a nation built on Indigenous genocide, the enslavement of Africans … the vilification of Arabs and Muslims and Jews and immigrants,” Fort said.
Fort said making serious progress towards King’s ideals means wide-scale efforts both nationally and internationally. He said all people should come together to achieve King’s idea of justice.
“We are the inheritors of a grand tradition of struggle,” Fort said. “If King is right and the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice, then it only bends because people like you and me are willing to bend it.”
Pablo Soto said he had become more involved in politics after the 2024 election and felt encouraged to see more speakers such as Fort.
“I thought it was encouraging … it really helped even though this was a sad day for a lot of us due to the inauguration, I think this was a way to encourage us to keep fighting,” Soto said.
Soto, who came from Frankfort, Kentucky to attend the event, said the speech was helpful in reminding attendees they have a voice and are able to stand up against injustice.
Steven Bates said he attends the Martin Luther King Day event every year and was surprised to see so many different people show up this year.
“It was a diverse crowd, more diverse than I’ve seen … hopefully everyone takes away togetherness,” Bates said.
Bates said though he was initially excited to see the original speaker, he thought Fort’s speech was impactful.
“He was very enlightened about a lot of things,” Bates said. “I felt like he was really inspirational.”
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