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A2 UP FRONT
Monday 16 January 2023

Biden: Americans should ‘pay attention’ to MLK’s legacy

Continued Front sage of a measure that
would have bolstered vot-
The White House on Sat- ing right protections, a
urday revealed that ad- central campaign pledge,
ditional classified records is one of his biggest dis-
were found at Biden’s appointments of his first
home near Wilmington, two years in office. The
Delaware. task is even steeper now
In introducing Biden, the that Republicans control
church’s senior pastor, the House. In his remarks,
Democratic Sen. Raphael the president said that for
Warnock noted that the all the progress the Unit-
president was “a devout ed States has made, the
Catholic” for whom “this President Joe Biden, center, holds hands with Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., a senior pastor at country had now reached
Baptist service might be a Ebenezer Baptist Church, second from left, and Keisha Lance Bottoms, senior adviser to Biden for a critical point in its history.
little bit rambunctious and public engagement and former Atlanta Mayor, second from right, after Biden spoke at Ebenezer He said democracies can
animated. But I saw him Baptist Church in Atlanta, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, during a service honoring Martin Luther King Jr. backslide, noting the col-
over there clapping his Associated Press lapse of the institutional
hands.” ground state Democrats hind him and a full six-year dent as he listed several of structures of democracy in
King, “the greatest Ameri- who won reelection in 2022, term ahead, Warnock fully Biden’s legislative achieve- places such as Brazil.
can prophet of the 20th kept his distance during the embraced Biden at the ments. “Progress is never easy, but
century,” as Warnock put campaign from Biden as service. Near the close, he “That, my friends, is God’s it’s always possible and
it, served as co-pastor from the president’s approval asked Biden to come to work,” said Warnock, add- things do get better in our
1960 until he was assassi- rating lagged and the infla- the front of the church and ing that Biden “had a little march to a more perfect
nated in 1968. tion rate climbed. asked Ebenezer’s congre- something to do with it.” union,” he said. “But at this
Warnock, like many battle- But with the election be- gants to pray for the presi- As Biden begins to turn his inflection point, we know a
attention toward an ex- lot of work that has to con-
pected 2024 reelection ef- tinue on economic justice
fort, Georgia is going to get civil rights, voting rights,
plenty of his attention. protecting our democracy.
In 2020, Biden managed And I’m remembering our
to win Georgia as well as job is to redeem the soul of
closely contested Michigan America.”
and Pennsylvania, where This moment, he said, “is the
Black votes made up a dis- time of choosing. … Are we
proportionate share of the a people who will choose
Democratic electorate. democracy over autoc-
Turning out Black voters in racy? Couldn’t ask that
those states will be essen- question 15 years ago be-
tial to Biden’s 2024 hopes. cause everybody thought
The White House has tried democracy was settled.
to promote Biden’s agen- ... But it’s not.” Americans,
da in minority communities. he said, “ have to choose
The White House has cited a community over chaos.
efforts to encourage states ... These are the vital ques-
to take equity into account tions of our time and the
for public works projects as reason why I’m here as
they spend money from your president. I believe Dr.
the administration’s $1 tril- King’s life and legacy show
lion infrastructure bill. The us the way and we should
administration also has act- pay attention.”
ed to end sentencing dis- King, who was born on Jan.
parity between crack and 15, 1929, was killed at age
powder cocaine offenses, 39. He helped drive pas-
scrapping a policy widely sage of the Civil Rights Act
seen as racist. of 1964 and Voting Rights
The administration also Act of 1965. Members of
highlights Biden’s work to King’s family attended
diversify the federal judi- the service, including his
ciary, including his appoint- 95-year-old sister, Christine
ment of Justice Ketanji King Farris.
Brown Jackson as the first ``I’ve spoken before parlia-
Black woman to serve on ments, kings, queens, lead-
the Supreme Court and the ers of the world ... but this is
confirmation of 11 Black intimidating,” Biden said in
women judges to federal opening his sermon.
appeals courts — more The president plans to be
than those installed to in Washington on Monday
those powerful courts un- to speak at the National
der all previous presidents Action Network’s annu-
combined. al breakfast on the King
Biden’s failure to win pas- holiday.q