I Filmed Al Sharpton's Speech on MLK Day While Trump Was Inaugurated Across Town — I’ll Never Forget It
What I witnessed that day felt closer to MLK than anything I’ve ever experienced.
On the day Donald Trump was sworn in, the world watched history happen.
So did I — but not on a TV. Not on the Capitol lawn.
I was across town, on assignment with The Black Wall Street Times, documenting a moment I still don’t have the full words for.
It was MLK Day. That morning, the weather couldn’t make up its mind — light snowflakes danced between cold rain, like the sky itself was wrestling with grief and clarity.
Inside a historic AME church in Washington, D.C., I stood among Black organizers, cultural protectors, and community leaders. We were there to hear Rev. Al Sharpton speak. We didn’t yet realize how deeply we’d need his words.
As the nation turned red and timelines flooded with headlines, I lifted my camera — not just to capture content, but to preserve presence.
“They Can Take the White House…”
“They can take the White House,” Sharpton thundered,
“But they can’t take our power — unless we give it to them.”
I’ve documented protests and powerful speeches since Occupy Wall Street, back when I was 20. I’ve heard truth shouted in the streets and whispered in community circles.
But few moments have hit me like this one.
The way he moved. The conviction in his voice. The rhythm, the clarity, the fire — it was the closest thing I’ve ever experienced to a modern-day Dr. King.
He didn’t come to mourn the moment. He came to mobilize it. He issued a call for a nationwide financial boycott of corporations standing against DEI, racial equity, and justice.
“If they’re building wealth off us,” he said,
“they will respect us — or lose access to our dollars.”
I was capturing a living archive of truth, power, and prophetic energy — something textbooks can’t touch.
You could hear it in the echoes of the room.
You could feel it in the tears of the elders.
You could see it in the clenched fists of young organizers who weren’t giving up the fight.
Against the Grain
Now, I know what some people think when they hear the name “Al Sharpton.”
They’ve been conditioned to associate him with division, with race-baiting, with outdated anger. That’s not by accident — that’s decades of intentional discrediting by those who fear his voice.
But what I heard that day wasn’t hate.
It was strategy.
It was soul.
It was a spiritual charge grounded in nonviolence, community uplift, and economic resistance.
It wasn’t a man stoking rage.
It was a man re-centering dignity.
Two Worlds, One Day
Outside, the nation handed the keys to a man who mocked civil rights leaders and lit matches of division.
Inside that church, we weren’t waiting for policy.
We were planting strategy.
Rooted in legacy. Fueled by purpose.
I wasn’t just recording a speech. I was capturing a living archive of truth, power, and prophetic energy — something no textbook could touch.
You could hear it in the echoes of the room.
You could feel it in the tears of the elders.
You could see it in the clenched fists of young organizers who weren’t giving up the fight.
What I Took From the Pulpit That Day
A mandate to act economically
– If we can spend billions, we can redirect billions.A call to document our power
– Don’t just witness history. Record it. Archive it. Protect it.Proof that MLK’s energy still lives
– Not as nostalgia, but as fuel.
On the day the country handed power to division, I stood in a church built by unity.
While America tuned in to a ceremony of fear, we were part of a gathering rooted in faith, fire, and future.
That speech wasn’t just heard — it was felt. And it wasn’t meant to stay in that room.
So I filmed it — in full 360° immersive video — to make sure you could experience it too. Not secondhand. Not filtered. Fully.
This wasn’t just resistance.
It was remembrance. A blueprint.
A reminder that we are still the movement we’ve been waiting for.
We can Dream Big, but we must also Act Bigger. Thanks for reading!
Watch the full recording from my TikTok live and more 360° immersive video on my YouTube channel!
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