MLK day marked by unrest, protests
King Jr.’s children decry vulgar remarks Trump said to have made
ATLANTA— Martin Luther King Jr.’s children and the pastor of an Atlanta church where he preached decried disparaging remarks U.S. President Donald Trump is said to have made about African countries, while protests between Haitian immigrants and Trump supporters broke out near the president’s Florida resort Monday, the official federal holiday honouring King.
At gatherings across the U.S., activists, residents and teachers honoured the late civil rights leader on what would have been his 89th birthday and ahead of the 50th anniversary of his assassination in Memphis, Tenn. Trump marked his first Mar- tin Luther King Jr. Day as president buffeted by claims that during a meeting with senators on immigration last week, he used a vulgarity to describe African countries and questioned the need to allow more Haitians into the U.S. He also is said to have asked why the country couldn’t have more immigrants from nations such as Norway.
In Washington, King’s eldest son, Martin Luther King III, criticized Trump, saying, “When a president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states like Norway, I don’t even think we need to spend any time even talking about what it says and what it is.”
He added, “We got to find a way to work on this man’s heart.”
In Atlanta, King’s daughter, Rev. Bernice King, told hundreds of people who packed the pews of the Ebenezer Baptist Church that they “cannot allow the nations of the world to embrace the words that come from our president as a reflection of the true spirit of America.
“We are one people, one nation, one blood, one destiny . . . All of civilization and humanity originated from the soils of Africa,” Bernice King said. “Our collective voice in this hour must always be louder than the one who sometimes does not reflect the legacy of my father.”
Rev. Raphael Warnock, the pastor, also took issue with Trump’s campaign slogan to “Make America Great Again.” Warnock said he thinks America “is already great . . . in large measure because of Africa and African people.”
Down the street from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago retreat in Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday, Haitian protesters and Trump supporters yelled at each other from opposing corners. Trump was staying at the resort for the holiday weekend. Video posted by WPEC-TV showed several hundred pro-Haiti demonstrators yelling from one side of the street Monday while waving Haitian flags. The Haitians and their supporters shouted, “Our country is not a s---hole,” referring to comments the president reportedly made. Trump has said that is not the language he used.
The smaller pro-Trump contingent waved U.S. flags and campaign posters and yelled, “Trump is making America great again.” One man could be seen telling Haitians to leave the country. Trump dedicated his weekly address, released Monday, to King.