Reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy in the Age of Trump

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KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 19 January 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

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Summary

In his second term as president, Donald Trump has dismantled programs that promote equality, fired Black officials from high ranking positions, and has empowered white nationalists. Social justice activists have long known that progress is uneven and often retracts, so what does the fight for civil rights look like today? On the day America commemorates Martin Luther King Jr., we reflect on his legacy and the state of our civil rights and social justice movements. Guests: Jelani Cobb, staff writer, The New Yorker; professor of journalism, Columbia University; his most recent book is, "Three or More Is a Riot: Notes on How We Got Here: 2012-2025" Eva Paterson, retired, former co-founder and president, Equal Justice Society; now runs a film production company called Joy and Magic Nicole Lee, executive director, Urban Peace Movement - a grassroots racial justice organization in Oakland focused on leadership development for young people to prevent violence and mass incarceration Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:18.1	From KQED.
0:23.6	Welcome to the Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal. It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and we're reflecting on the state of civil rights and social justice here in the United States.
0:31.6	Up first, we're joined by Jelani Cobb, a staff writer at The New Yorker.
0:34.6	His most recent book, Three or More is a Riot, Notes on How We Got Here,
0:40.0	2012 to 2025, is a collection of essays that chart the path from more optimistic times to
0:46.6	whatever is happening today. These 13 years from Obama to Trump, too, have been tumultuous,
0:54.1	and nowadays, bald and open racism is alive
0:56.8	in public American society in ways that I could not have imagined growing up or coming up as a
1:02.7	journalist. At the same time, we have also witnessed a flourishing of the documentation of our
1:08.0	history as a nation, as well as powerful cross-generational activism. Here to talk with us about the documentation of our history as a nation, as well as powerful cross-generational activism.
1:12.7	Here to talk with us about the movement of the storms of history. We're joined by Cobb from New York.
1:18.7	Welcome, Jolani.
1:20.1	Thank you. And also, I should say, I'm not in New York. Oh, where are you?
1:25.1	I'm in Indiana today. Oh, you're in Indiana.
1:27.8	Evansville, Indiana. Yeah. Well, welcome from York. Oh, where are you? In Indiana today. Oh, you're in Indiana. Evansville, Indiana, yeah.
1:29.9	Well, welcome from Indiana.
1:32.5	Let's talk about this arc, this arc of history.
1:36.5	I mean, I have a friend who once said to me that the universe may bend towards justice,
	...

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