While many Americans traveled to Washington D.C. over the weekend to celebrate the inauguration of Donald Trump, others chose to celebrate their culture and honor their loved ones.
With the current divided partisan nature of American politics, two D.C. communities found that who they are and the people they care for is far more important than the weekend’s big events.
For the African American community, Martin Luther King Jr. Day outshined the inauguration of President Donald Trump, which both took place on Jan. 20 this year.
Many black-owned businesses closed their doors for the day and posters advertising honorary services for the holiday were plastered across the city.
People from New York, Boston, Baltimore and more traveled to the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in D.C. to attend a rally held by the National Action Network to celebrate after police shut down the group’s march.
National Action Network, a non-profit civil rights organization founded by Reverend Al Sharpton in New York City, serves to honor the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to promote a “modern civil rights agenda that includes the fight for one standard of justice, decency and equal opportunities for all people regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, citizenship, criminal record, economic status, gender, gender expression, or sexuality” according to its website.
Attendees filled the seats of the Metropolitan AME Church to watch the rally, which shared words of unity and hope for the future of the black community.
A choir started the rally by singing traditional African American hymnals followed by local and national guest speakers.
Al Sharpton led the rally as keynote speaker, highlighting the power of Black Americans and their foundational contributions to the United States.
He emphasized the continuing battle the community will face with the new presidency of Donald Trump and his belief of Trump’s disregard for the black communities in America, but that they must never stop fighting for their rights or equality.
“We fought too hard, we shed too much blood, we spent too many nights in jail to think that Trump can turn us around,” Sharpton said, “I wanted to be in Washington to let you know that we’re right here and we are not going back again.”
Reverend Dr. Marshall Hatch Sr. also spoke at the rally about the significance of Fredrick Douglas and his contributions to the community and American civil rights.
“When we look at history, it is not Thomas Jefferson, it is not George Washington, it is not the other signers of the Declaration of Independence who are the real visionaries of America as we know it, but it is Fredrick Douglas who said we must have a new birth of freedom that now includes people from all over the world,” Hatch said.
Other significant figures in the Black community appeared at the rally including Stephen Marshall, Jennifer Jones Austin and Kevin Richardson – one of the Central Park Five.

That same weekend, a group of activists, organizers and desperate family members joined together for a chance to share their grievances with the public.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a volunteer-based organization focused on the safe return of Israeli citizens taken hostage, hosted a media press conference in honor of friends and loved ones taken from southern Israel on the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.
Formed less than 24 hours after the attack, the organization provides medical, emotional and psychological support for the affected families and helps to establish international criminal accountability, according to its website.
Press conference participants stood in yellow apparel and held signs of hostages who have yet to return home.
Signs with the faces of those still missing and posters with the words “Bring Them Home Now” sat on a table in front of families waiting to tell the story of their loved ones.
Fathers, mothers, siblings and friends spoke about those they have lost and the hope to see them again with the help of the U.S. government.
American Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen’s father Yonatan recalls the collaboration of the outgoing Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration, thanking them for putting aside their differences and coming together for a greater cause to confirm a deal to have multiple hostages released.
“This is an amazing American moment today at the cusp of transition between the Biden and Trump administrations that have worked shoulder to shoulder in this incredibly non-partisan time in which we live,” said Yonatan, “On behalf of the hostages, we know their commitment, we feel their commitment, we need their commitment for all 98 to come home.”
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum states they will not stop advocating for the safe return of those they love until every single one of them is home – no matter how long it may take.
“By any means necessary and through all available channels, our most important mission is to bring all hostages back home,” states the Hostage and Missing Families Forum’s online mission statement.
News Reporter Libby Simpson can be reached at [email protected].