Today is Sunday, January 15, 2023, the eve of Martin Luther King Day. Today marks the assassinated civil rights activist’s 94th birthday if he had lived. Today President Joe Biden delivered remarks from Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, becoming the first sitting president to deliver a Sunday sermon from the historic church where civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. served as pastor until his assassination in 1968. In an online article for CNN politics, written by Donald Judd and Sonnet Swire, entitled “Biden delivers sermon drawing on legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King: ‘This is a time of choosing,'” the historic address by President Biden is detailed for readers.

Beginning his speech with a lame joke, Biden said, “You’ve been around [referring to the age of the historic church] for 136 years – I know I look like it, but I haven’t.” The President then called King one of “my only political heroes” since entering public office.

In remarks from the pulpit, the President referred to the current moment in American history as “the time of choosing.”

Biden then became quite serious, saying, “Are we a people who choose democracy over autocracy? You couldn’t ask that question 15 years ago, right? You would’ve thought democracy was settled – not for African Americans, but democracy as an institutional structure was settled. But it’s not, it’s not.”

Continuing that thread, Biden stated, “We have to choose a community over chaos. Are we the people . . . going to choose love over hate? 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 currently beleaguered president then offered praise for King and his legacy, noting that the civil rights pioneer “was born in a nation where segregation was a tragic fact of life.”

The invitation to speak at Ebenezer Baptist Church was extended to Biden by its current pastor, Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, on what would have been King’s 94th birthday. Inside, Biden spoke about King’s legacy, including civil and voting rights. Biden reminded the audience that King’s mission was more than about civil rights and voting rights – it was spiritual, even moral, Biden reminded the parishioners sitting listening to him.

“Ahead of Biden’s trip to Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the White House senior adviser for public engagement, and former mayor of Atlanta, called the visit an ‘inflection point,’ as the president’s voting rights agenda remains stalled in Congress.” Bottoms urged that action be taken on voting rights legislation, especially now that it’s 2023.

A Democratic-controlled House did pass a voting rights bill in 2021, but attempts by Senate Democrats to change filibuster rules to pass the legislation were unsuccessful amid opposition from moderate [moderate?] Senators Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema. Since then, Sinema has become an independent, and Republicans won control of the House following the November midterm elections, further dashing hopes of finding compromise on voting rights. So it seems that Biden has done as much as he is able to do from the executive branch level; it’s up to Congress to take up the issue.

While in Atlanta, Biden was expected to meet with members of the King family and civil rights organizations, the White House indicated.

As the nation honors the memory of the slain civil rights leader tomorrow, Biden will deliver the keynote address during the National Action Network’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on the invitation of Rev. Al Sharpton.

As we approach the holiday named for the civil rights icon, let us reflect on whether what King talked about in his “I Have a Dream” speech 60 years ago has come to fruition or not. Have we really made progress in all those years or have we backtracked, especially during the Dumpf era?

So we have another week on our hands. Have a contemplative Martin Luther King Day tomorrow.

Stay safe and be well.