MLK celebrated as Obama inaugurated in D.C.

ATLANTA – The nation will honor civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. the same day it celebrates the second-term inauguration of our first Black president.  

President Barack Obama’s public swearing-in in Washington D.C. coincides with the national holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader. This is the first time in U.S. history the two events occurred on the same day.

People took turns snapping pictures with the King memorial statue in the nation’s capital on Monday morning before heading to the National Mall for the inauguration, about a 15-minute walk away.  

King was born Jan. 15, 1929 and was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tenn.

Some of the King memorial visitors had helped campaign for Obama during his bid for a second term.

Jon Barton, 61 and his wife Brook Stephens, 59, of Roanoke, Va., had knocked on doors to get out the vote for Obama.

“When you grew up in the ‘60s, this means a lot,” Stephens said.

Nicole Hailey had driven from Monroe, N.C., to Washington.

“It’s Martin Luther King’s special day,” she said. “We’re just celebration freedom.”

Meanwhile, in Atlanta, the King Center was hosting its annual commemorative service featuring the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, who is president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. The speech will mark the first time a Latino leader has served as the keynote speaker for the commemorative service on the national King holiday.

Compiled from a report in the Huffington Post.