By Aria Brent, AFRO Staff Writer
abrent@afro.com
Members of the National Action Network (NAN) will gather civil rights and community leaders from across the nation in protest next year.
On Jan. 20, 2025, which will also be Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Sharpton will hold a rally to speak out against the second presidential inauguration of Donald Trump.
On Nov. 19, the organization released a statement with all the details of the event explaining that this rally is in honor of King’s legacy and in opposition to the incoming administration.
(Photo courtesy of the National Action Network)
“On Martin Luther King Day 2025, as Donald Trump is sworn in, we won’t stand still,” the statement reads. “We will rise up, honor and defend Dr. King’s dream by marching for justice, equality and change.”
Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of NAN, has been very vocal about his disapproval of Trump’s political agenda, especially in the weeks following his win of the 2024 presidential election. Most recently, Sharpton criticized the president-elect’s lack of Black cabinet level nominations.
“In the two weeks since Donald Trump was elected to a second term, he has put forth a dozen troubling nominees, yet the most alarming factor in his proposed cabinet is that not a single candidate is Black,” said Sharpton. “Trump spent this campaign selling himself to Black voters, especially men, by peddling sneakers and implying his criminal convictions would resonate with our community. Instead of meeting the demands of more Black voters who supported him, Donald Trump has proposed an Attorney General nominee wrapped up in an ethics probe over trafficking allegations and a Health Secretary whose views on vaccines and other safeguards could devastate our community.”
The Jan. 20, 2025 rally will kick off at the Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, D.C. NAN is calling on the Black community and its allies to “take a stand” and “continue to turn Dr. King’s legacy into action.”
