What is there to say about the Inauguration and MLK holiday falling on the same day? A great deal. Here’s just a little bit. The juxtaposition makes clear that it is past due time to abandon the nation’s self congratulatory narrative that attends monuments and holidays in celebration of Civil Rights heroes and the larger/longer Freedom struggle of Black People. The values that led to T$&mps election are not new to this country. They existed at the founding and even prior in the Colonial period. Of course there is a destabilizing effect when there are new expressions of bigotry and venom, but the ideas and ideals are old hat. The King holiday, then, must become an occasion for people of conscience to refresh their commitments to justice and the beloved community. We literally are inheritors of a many generations old struggle. The memory of MLK Jr. is a challenge in this moment. How might we learn from his moral witness, his courage as he confronted unjust laws and hateful country-people? What might we learn from studying his ideas, and the complexities and conflicts within the movement that might provide insight for our era of the long freedom struggle? Likewise on Juneteenth, May Day, Labor Day, and May 19th (the birthday of Malcolm X, Lorraine Hansberry & Yuri Kochiyama) we will be called to reflect on what they have to teach us that is applicable today, and to do so with inspiration rather than simple imitation. And the lesson of this moment is varied. I thought today on the one hand about rappers performing at the inauguration and remembered it has always been the case that in the vast array of politics and commitments that Black people have, some are so deeply self interested that they have utter disregard for the well being of members of their communities or others subject to injustice. Their popularity is, to me, meaningless in comparison to their values. On the other hand, I must admit I feel a bittersweetness at best (and really its bitterness) at the pardon of Marcus Garvey, generations late when he has become frozen beyond recognition in the US national consciousness, merely an icon. And I felt the same way when Malcolm was given a stamp. And I feel the same way with the flat meme-fication of so many great thinkers and organizers. I don’t want to quarrel with those who are celebrating the pardon. People should get joy where they can. But suffice it to say, regardless of whether you’re celebrating or skeptical, we cannot afford the repeated iconographic turn. Not now. No more. We have to lead with care for the legacies of our ancestors, critically, deliberately, and in community with others who believe in freedom.