WASHINGTON — They came to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream, a tapestry of humanity with all shades of skin and from all walks of life. Yet there was something missing from the Lincoln Memorial last week: Republicans.
Fifty years ago, Democrats and Republicans stood shoulder to shoulder, demanding equal rights for blacks. But during the past week of commemorations, the two parties barely interacted, each organizing its own events.
“It’s so obvious that it’s partisan,” said Mary Frances Berry, a University of Pennsylvania history professor and former chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. “I’m not sure that’s good politics or the way to get anything done.”
As the anniversary ceremonies unfolded, both sides said more unity is needed to fully realize King’s dream — yet they showed few signs of wavering from positions that have been forged from decades of political warfare.
The two biggest commemoration events were a march Aug. 24 and the ceremony Wednesday, when President Barack Obama spoke from the same spot as King did exactly 50 years before.
The King Center invited both former President Bushes and all the Republican congressional leaders to speak Wednesday. The elder Bush is too infirm to travel; his son declined due to a recent heart procedure but sent a statement of support. Other Republicans also declined.
On Monday, the Republican National Committee held a commemorative luncheon. Representatives from the NAACP and Urban League attended, but no Democrats were featured as speakers.
In an interview, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Republicans might have been reluctant to be associated with advocacy leaders, union presidents and Democratic politicians featured in the ceremonies.
On the other hand, event organizers might have been reluctant to include conservative speakers who think King’s dream is a reality and his fight has been won, said Charlton McIlwain, a New York University professor and author of “Race Appeal: How Candidates Invoke Race in U.S. Political Campaigns.”
“Perspectives on race and dealing with race are so intimately intertwined with the political parties, much more than they were 50 years ago,” McIlwain said. “It comes down to a fundamentally different view of what race means and how we solve problems that involve race.”
