Biden honors MLK in sermon ahead of Monday holiday

President Biden on Sunday paid tribute to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in a service at the historic Atlanta church the slain civil rights leader once led.
Speaking ahead of Monday's national holiday honoring King, Biden called on Americans to follow the minister's example to help "redeem the soul" of a nation plagued by diminishing faith in its institutions. "The battle for the soul of this nation is perennial. ... It's a constant struggle between hope and fear, kindness and cruelty, justice and injustice, against those who traffic in racism, extremism, and insurrection," Biden said at Ebenezer Baptist Church. The president was invited to speak by Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock (D), who has been senior pastor at the church since 2005.
"We have to choose a community over chaos. Are we the people … going to choose love over hate?" Biden continued in his roughly 25-minute address. "These are the vital questions of our time, and the reason why I'm here as your president, I believe. Dr. King's life and legacy show us the way, and we should pay attention."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The president's remarks arrived on what would have been King's 94th birthday, CNN reports. A video of Biden overseeing the creation of the holiday in 1983 went viral ahead of the Sunday sermon, per The Independent.
On Monday, the president will also deliver the keynote address at the National Action Network's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Breakfast in D.C. The event will run from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
May 31 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include how much to pay for a pardon, medical advice from a brain worm, and a simple solution to the national debt.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
The Biden cover-up: a 'near-treasonous' conspiracy
Talking Point Using 'Trumpian' tactics, the former president's inner circle maintained a conspiracy of silence around his cognitive and physical decline
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs
-
Trump pauses all new foreign student visas
speed read The State Department has stopped scheduling interviews with those seeking student visas in preparation for scrutiny of applicants' social media