Michelle Obama is celebrating the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Moments before Donald Trump took the oath of office Monday, the former First Lady shared a tribute to the civil rights activist on his national holiday.
“Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of service always inspires me,” Obama wrote on Instagram. “This #MLKDay, I hope you’ll join me and @WhenWeAllVote in honoring Dr. King’s life and legacy by getting involved in your community.”
“Whether you’re mentoring students at your local school or volunteering for a cause that matters to you, it all helps make a difference,” she added in the caption, which accompanied an image of King, alongside the MLK quote, “The time is always right to do what is right.”
Last week, the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama confirmed that the former President would attend the ceremony, while Michelle would “not attend the upcoming inauguration.” The Obamas attended Trump’s 2017 inauguration after his 2016 election.
Sources told People there was “no overstating” Michelle Obama’s feelings about the new president. “Michelle doesn’t do anything because it’s expected or it’s protocol or it’s tradition,” the source told the outlet. The Obamas attended Trump’s 2017 inauguration as Barack Obama left office.
Trump made a brief reference to MLK during his speech. “To the Black and Hispanic communities, I want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love and trust that you have shown me with your vote. We set records and I will not forget it,” he said, before adding, “Today is Martin Luther King Day and [in] his honor, this will be a great honor, but in his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality. We will make his dream come true.”
On Saturday, MLK’s daughter Bernice King spoke to MSNBC’s The Weekend about the coincidence of MLK Day and the Inauguration, saying it “points us back to King.”
“It’s wonderful that this occurs on the King holiday, the inauguration because it reminds us of King,” she said. “It points us back to King. It says, ‘When we move forward, we’ve got to do it in the spirit of King.’”
“We have to strategize. We’ve been missing the strategy. We’ve been missing the spirit of Dr. King,” she added. “The spirit of Dr. King is nonviolence. And nonviolence is not just a posture, it’s a mindset. For us, we define it as a love-centered way of thinking, speaking, acting and engaging that leads to personal, cultural and societal transformation.”
