Anti-Trump Protest In Newark Will Invoke Name Of Martin Luther King Jr

NEWARK, NJ — A groundswell of support is building for a “resistance march” against the incoming presidency of Donald Trump ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2025 in Newark, organizers say.

On Sunday, the People’s Organization for Progress (POP) reported that 243 social justice groups have endorsed their upcoming “Martin Luther King March Of Resistance.”

The demonstration will take place at noon on Saturday, Jan. 18. It will start at the Martin Luther King Statue, 495 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Newark. Participants will march from the statue to the nearby Peter Rodino Federal Building and back for the rally.

The inauguration of Trump as the 47th president of the United States will take place on Jan. 20 – the same day as Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“We are having this march not only to observe the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, but to demonstrate our determination to resist efforts of the incoming Trump administration to further erode the gains of the civil rights movement and social progress of the past century,” POP founder and former U.S. Senate candidate Lawrence Hamm said.

“This march is our way of saying they’re we are going fight back against Trump’s reactionary domestic and foreign policies every step of the way for the next four years,” Hamm continued. “However, we are not just marching against Trump’s policies. We are also marching to advance Dr. King’s agenda for racial equality and economic justice and current progressive policies to improve the quality of life in this country.”

According to Hamm, those ideals include ending racism, poverty, inequality, discrimination, racist violence, oppression and militarism – including the Israel-Palestine war. Protesters will also be marching for a living wage, Medicare for All, free college, abolition of student debt, affordable housing, voting rights, civil rights, workers rights, women’s rights, anti-police brutality legislation, reparations for African Americans, expansion of social security and other “progressive legislation.”

Deborah Smith Gregory, president of NAACP Newark, is among the local leaders who are supporting the upcoming march.

“We intend to harness the power of the community so we can collectively ward off the threats that will impact our lives,” she said. “We urge Newark residents to lift up the work of Dr. King by participating in this March of Resistance.”

The POP has held annual observances of King’s birthday almost every year since it was organized in 1982.

Since announcing the march, nearly 250 other groups have signed endorsements of support. It’s the most that the POP has gotten for any march it has held, Hamm said. See Related: This Group Helped Lead Newark’s George Floyd Protest; What’s Next?

“I believe the response we are receiving grows out of a sense of concern, indignation and danger,” Hamm said. “People see that everything Dr. King and the movement fought for is being eradicated right before our eyes. Many people feel like they want and need to do something to resist.”

Organizations that wish to endorse this year’s march, or people need more information can contact the People’s Organizations For Progress at (973)801-0001.

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