Formerly known as Michael Luther King Jr., Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most famous and well known public figures in the history of the United States. Dr. King became a pastor for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He was a strong activist for civil and human rights, and lead many iconic events, such as a committee of his own and a boycott that ended up lasting 382 days. Because of his immense impact in the civil rights movement, he was subjected to terrible circumstances, as he was arrested during a demonstration, had his family home bombed, was stabbed, and later assassinated. Though he is no longer with us, we see the effects of his movement to this day.

It was with Martin Luther King Jr.  that we saw the true definition of what it meant to exercise our rights to peaceful protest, and speech. He recruited all types of people; workers and learners, old and young. Dr. King was often criticized for inciting violence when it came to his protests, to which he countered with the fact that the violence was started and only done by the police officers, and white people around the protesters.

Today, we still see much of the mistreatment we saw during the civil rights movement. Year after year, we see more young black men being killed by police brutality. As we continue to see this, we fight and protest the discrimination unequal treatment of those of color. Even so, the discrimination and blatant racism persists, evident in newly elected officials. Today’s youth have started to have a constant hatred for police, making the communication and relationship between officials and the community strained. With this comes the controversy of the Black Lives Matter Movement, which is a movement that fights for the lives of black people around the country and for their equal treatment in society and in altercations with law enforcement, against the Blue Lives Matter movement, that fights for the lives of police officers.

People today seek the wise words of MLK and his predecessors such as Mahatma Gandhi and others similar figures to speak of the injustices they face. We have seen this in the Anti- Trump protest the day of his inauguration, the women’s march, and several more. The people peacefully protest their ideologies, and it is only when non-peaceful protesters incite violence that the name of protesting is tarnished.

We as a country celebrate a historic figure like Martin Luther King Jr. annually on the 16th of January. On this day we remember the immense impact Dr. King left with us. Sadly, days later on the 20th of January, Donald Trump was made the president of the United States, juxtaposing the purpose and movement of Dr. King. On Monday, we saw and celebrated the incredible movement that helped bring us a step forward towards social equality. On Friday, we saw our country take steps back into a time where racism is prevalent and justified, particularly by our own president. Though most of our country mourns quietly over this decision, to make Trump president, some take matters into their own hands, and put to practice the tactics that Dr. King had spoken of so many years ago.