‘Not a dictatorship of America.’ SC’s King Day at the Dome serves as response to Trump
On the day when President Donald Trump was inaugurated, the NAACP in South Carolina called on supporters to continue to honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for civil rights in the face of a second Trump administration.
King Day at the Dome, an event in Columbia that includes a march from Zion Baptist Church, down Main Street to the State House, was not explicitly counter-programming to the the Trump inauguration, but the return of the Republican real estate mogul to the White House was on everyone’s minds.
“This is the civil rights movement of our time,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said in his speech which took place at the same time Trump took the oath of office. “Over the coming days we may see executive actions from the White House fueled by fear and hatred, but do not lose hope my friends.”
Harrison called on those in attendance to register people to vote and make sure they participate in elections.
“This is not a dictatorship of America. This is not the monarchy of America. It sure as hell ain’t the corporation of America,” Harrison said. ”This is the United States of America. An active participation in government is both our birth right and our responsibility.”
King Day at the Dome, coordinated by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People South Carolina State Conference, started in 2000 as a protest to the Confederate flag flying over the State House dome and inside both legislative chambers. When the Confederate flag was moved from above the dome to next to the Confederate Soldier’s Memorial as part of a compromise, the annual event continued.
Trump’s second swearing in provided an undertone for the annual civil rights demonstration, and provided a basis for the latest iteration of the annual Columbia gathering that started off as a protest against the Confederate flag and serves as a must-attend event for presidential hopefuls.
“The question is, what is Donald Trump going to do in this moment?” Harrison said. “This is Dr King’s Day. This is a day of service. This is a day of unity. Will Donald Trump step up to the task and unite this country? Will he fight for all? In his last four years, he didn’t do that and sometimes history is prologue for the future.”
In a call with reporters Monday, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, defended the new administration’s goals, which include addressing immigration at the Southern border, becoming energy independent and keeping transgender women out of women’s sports.
“The problem that Jaime and the Democrats have is that the heart and soul of Trump’s agenda is widely supported by the American people,” Graham said. “If President Trump sticks to his campaign promises, he’s going to be in good shape, and I think the Democratic Party would be wise to choose their battles. I’m sure there will be some battles that we engage in that their side of the story may prevail, but challenging President Trump for doing what he promised I think is a losing message.”
The annual King Day at the Dome also took place a day after then-President Joe Biden’s trip to South Carolina, which included a visit to the International African American Museum in Charleston.
“But in the words — in those words are the essence of the gospel, is the essence of the American promise: the idea, as was mentioned earlier, that we’re all created equal in the image of God and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives,” Biden said. “We’ve never fully lived up to that commitment, but we’ve never walked away from it either because of you and your ancestors before us, who followed light of the North Star even in the darkness.”
Now in its 25th year, King Day at the Dome has become a place where those seeking statewide office and even the White House attend to speak to Black voters, a key constituency of the Democratic voting bloc. The event’s attractiveness is helped by South Carolina’s presidential primary’s spot early in the nominating process.
In 2020, eight Democratic presidential hopefuls marched in the King Day at the Dome festivities, including Biden.
In 2024, then-Vice President Kamala Harris was the keynote speaker of the event, which took place less than three weeks before the First in the Nation Democratic Presidential Primary.
This year’s rally comes as Democrats suffered further setbacks in South Carolina during the 2024 election.
Republicans gained a supermajority in the state Senate to go along with their supermajority in the state House. Trump also won the state by 18 points in the presidential election.
With this year’s King Day at the Dome on the same day as Trump’s second inauguration, the theme was “There’s no winning in giving up.”
Leona Forrest-Dinkins, a 57-year-old Black woman from Blythewood, came to show that she didn’t want to lose hope that causes important to the Black community wouldn’t be addressed, even though most of those who came to the rally most likely did not vote for Trump.
“We can still have a place at the table, but in order to do that, it’s important that we hear and we listen to what’s going on, so that we can make sure we do our part to advance our causes,” Forrest-Dinkins said.
Bill and Ginny Eiwen, of Columbia, participated in the King Day at the Dome march specifically because it was happening on the same day as the inauguration.
“This is the happy thing happening today. Not his death, but his life was something that made this country great,” Bill Eiwen said referring to MLK Jr.
Wayne Kannaday, and Helen Doerpinghaus are involved with MORE Justice in Columbia, which brings church congregations together to work on community issues. The couple was among the several hundred people who attended King Day at the Dome.
“We’re trying to represent justice and equity. We’re trying to be that kind of present and when we saw that this was going on in juxtaposition with the inauguration events, this is how we wanted to spend the day. Making this statement being a part of the march honoring the legacy of Dr. King,” Kannaday said.
This story was originally published January 21, 2025 at 9:43 AM.
