WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama honored Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of service Monday by helping a soup kitchen prepare its daily meals and a host of administration figures fanned out across the capital to appear at holiday events.
Obama took his wife, Michelle, and daughters, Malia and Sasha, to DC Central Kitchen, which is a few minutes away from the White House by presidential motorcade. They joined an assembly line that was churning out burritos. Asked what the burritos were being stuffed with, Obama said it looked like lamb. It actually was beef in a sauce, along with unidentified vegetables and cheese.
Obama said he came to help the facility mark its 25th anniversary on Monday. Among those joining him there was senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.
DC Central Kitchen prepares thousands of meals every day for distribution to local shelters.
Vice President Joe Biden appeared at the National Action Network’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast, and later joined the Catholic Volunteer Network in serving a hot lunch to guests at SOME — So Others Might Eat.
Several of Obama’s Cabinet officers, including Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, as well as White House chief of staff Denis McDonough, also took part in various holiday-related events.
Hundreds of people filled Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Monday to remember and reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
The service at the church where King preached featured prayers, songs, music and speakers. It was one of many events, including parades, marches and community service projects, across the country to honor King, an Atlanta native.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said there were not many states that can boast a native son that merits a national holiday, but added: “we Georgians can.”
Deal said this year he would work with state legislators to find an appropriate way to honor the 1965 Nobel Peace Prize winner at the Georgia Capitol, which drew a standing ovation from the audience. He did not give any specifics. Civil rights leaders have suggested a statue at the state Capitol.
“I think that more than just saying kind thoughts about him we ought to take action ourselves,” said Deal, a Republican. “That’s how we embed truth into our words. I think it’s time for Georgia’s leaders to follow in Dr. King’s footsteps and take action, too.”
Deal also touched on criminal justice reforms his administration has tried to make, including drug and mental health courts and community-based services to keep non-violent criminals and young people out of prison.
Vice President Joe Biden addressed the National Action Network’s MLK Breakfast, urging them to protect voting rights.
“Let me remind you all, it all rests ultimately on the ballot box, so keep the faith, or as my grandmom would say, `No, Joey, go spread the faith.’ It’s time to spread it,” Biden said.
In Ann Arbor, Mich., activist and entertainer Harry Belafonte planned to deliver the keynote address for the 28th annual Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium at the University of Michigan’s Hill Auditorium.
In Memphis, Tenn., where King was assassinated, an audio recording of an interview with King was played at the National Civil Rights Museum. The recording sheds new light on a phone call President John F. Kennedy made to King’s wife more than 50 years ago.
Historians generally agree Kennedy’s phone call to Coretta Scott King expressing concern over her husband’s arrest in October 1960 — and Robert Kennedy’s work behind the scenes to get King released — helped JFK win the White House.
The reel-to-reel audiotape was discovered by a man cleaning out his father’s attic. The father, an insurance salesman, had interviewed King for a book he was writing, but never completed it and stored the recording with other interviews he’d done.
At the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Ky., the centered showed King’s “I Have a Dream” speech on the hour. In August, tens of thousands of Americans visited the National Mall to mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which he gave from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Several people who were scheduled to speak at that event but were cut because there was not enough time were invited to speak at Ebenezer.
King was born Jan. 15, 1929, and he would’ve been 85 years old. The federal holiday is the third Monday in January and has been celebrated since 1986.
