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."
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.
-
The 8 best hospital dramas of all timethe week recommends From wartime period pieces to of-the-moment procedurals, audiences never tire of watching doctors and nurses do their lifesaving thing
-
‘Implementing strengthened provisions help advance aviation safety’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How Manchesterism could change the UKThe Explainer The idea involves shifting a centralized government to more local powers
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
