ALSOBROOKS LAYS WREATH IN HONOR OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

January 19, 2026

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) joined Harry E. Johnson Sr., President/CEO of the Memorial Foundation; Sean Burns, Thurgood Marshall College Fund/Alpha PAC; Georgette Dixon, Executive Vice President and Head of External Engagement Diverse Segments, Representation, and Inclusion, Wells Fargo and Company; Lucien J. Metellus, Jr., General President, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; Reverend Dr. Zina Pierre, Bethel Restoration Church, District Heights, Maryland; Rev. Dr. Grainger Browning Jr., Senior Pastor, Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church, Fort Washington, Maryland; Minister Dr. Ricky Dillard; the Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church Choir; and community members in laying a wreath at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial "Stone of Hope."

Senator Alsobrooks delivered the Keynote Address, see below for her remarks as prepared:

"Good morning, everyone. This is such a special day. I've had the opportunity to attend many events before. But having the honor of participating in this ceremony is the honor of my life.

"These kinds of ceremonies where we lay wreaths are generally done to keep a memory alive. There's no one more worthy of this honor than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"But this ceremony isn't because he needs it. Dr. King's legacy is as enduring as any of the monuments that grace these grounds. His impact is woven into the fabric of this nation. His memory will never die.

"Back in 1963, when Dr. King was wrongfully arrested for protesting and confined in that lonely Birmingham jail cell, he explained his presence by writing, 'I am in Birmingham because injustice is here…Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.'

"Dr. King was prescient, ahead of his time in knowing that the call for aid would still sound. That's why we will never forget him. And as long as injustice has a home anywhere in this country, and as long as the dispossessed, disenfranchised, and voiceless are in need, Dr. King lives on in the hope that help is on the way.

"Especially now, in a time when the need for justice echoes as loud as ever, Dr. King's words ring true. Today, in a period where principled leadership is in short supply, this monument embodies his towering example.

"Generations have been fed by the fruits of his labor. And I'm able to stand on the floor of the Senate of the United States because I'm held up by the foundation of the work that he and so many others did.

"So, we're not laying this wreath today because we're worried that his memory will someday disappear. Dr. King lives on. That mission has already been accomplished. And I hope the King family can rest assured that he will never be forgotten.

"This wreath ceremony is not for him; it's for us. Today is a reminder to us that the work did not stop with him, no matter how hard they tried. Hate may have hidden its face, but it couldn't extinguish the inevitability of justice.

"Fear couldn't kill it. Jail cells couldn't contain it. The work continued then. It continues now with us. And today is about recommitting ourselves to it.

"The work Dr. King led was driven by his pursuit of truth, believing that truth crushed to earth shall rise again. His words were prophetic and timeless because truth is timeless.

"The pursuit took him around the world. It led him to isolation in that Birmingham jail cell. And just a few months later, it brought him here, in the open air of the national mall, where he stood before hundreds of thousands, asking that this nation simply live up to its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'

"It has been said that justice is truth in action. That's as clear a definition of justice as ever. That's the work that Dr. King pursued so tirelessly, convinced that injustice can't exist in the light of truth.

"This monument came to be through the efforts of George Sealey, Alfred C. Bailey, Oscar Little, John Harvey, Eddie Madison, and Harold Navy. Marylanders, and men of Alpha Phi Alpha, who embrace service and hold education as a core value. Like his Alpha brothers, Dr. King felt strongly about the purpose of education, saying 'To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.'

"Wherever our education takes place, in a formal classroom or in life's journey, we must use it to fine tune our discernment so we can carry on this work. In a time when misinformation runs wild and people in high places intentionally mislead, our duty to pursue justice - truth in action - is as important as ever.

"When some in control insist on narratives that run counter to what your very eyes are seeing, it means we must fight even harder to protect what is right. When people try to erase history and water down the impact that our ancestors had, it underscores how necessary it is to reject the lies about who we are.

"When deceivers spread false portrayals hoping to divide a population that simply wants this nation to live up to its creed, it's essential that we push back against this tool that keeps the unheard muted by injustice.

"That's why this ceremony is for us and our recommitment to the work. King's legacy doesn't just live in his words. It's kept alive through what his words inspire us to do. Because we can say 'injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,' but do we move as if we believe it to be true?

"Do we turn a deaf ear to someone's call for aid if it's an inconvenience to our comfort? Do we settle for a society with violence and substandard living conditions in neighborhoods as long as they're not our own?

"Do we ignore the persistent economic inequality in our nation because our own career pays us well, or do we fight for an economy that's equitable and provides opportunities for all Americans?

"Are we satisfied with a legal system that can be weaponized against the least of us, or do we keep fighting for a system that treats everyone fairly?

"Do we relax in the knowledge that our own rights aren't being suppressed, or do we push back on the inhumane treatment of those from different backgrounds?

"Dr. King's words endure, but sadly, so do some of the threats to justice that he fought. Even now, there are people being targeted and terrorized for answering the call for justice. It's a solemn reminder that there's still more work to do.

"But it's also motivation. Somewhere, someone is still holding on to hope that help is on the way. The call for justice still sounds, so, the work of the movement still lives. No abuse of power can kill it. No assault on democracy can suppress it. And it's on us to carry it forward.

"Carved into this very monument, there's a quote from Dr. King's Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech that says, 'I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.'

"That strong faith is a reminder that Dr. King was a minister of the gospel. It was at his core. And his memory brings to mind the old spiritual, Beams of Heaven as I Go: Harder yet may be the fight; right may often yield to might; Wickedness a while may reign; Satan's cause may seem to gain. But there's a God that rules above; with hand of power and heart of love; and if I'm right, He'll fight my battle. I shall have peace someday."

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