Biden Attends South Carolina Church to Observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day

President Joe Biden (R) attends a Sunday service at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., on Jan. 19, 2025, one day before Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, on Jan. 19 to attend a service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is Jan. 20.

Biden honored King’s legacy and the continued efforts to bring to reality King’s dream that his “four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

“On the weekend, we celebrate one of the political heroes, my political heroes [for] many years, Dr. Martin Luther King,” Biden said, adding that a bust of King is one of two that he can see from his desk.

“How can faith get a nation through what’s to come? Here’s what my faith has taught me: Scripture says, ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

After the service, Biden met attendees at the African American Museum, where he delivered additional remarks.

Biden chose South Carolina as his last official trip as president. He attended the funeral service of the Rev. Clementa Pinckney in 2015, who was murdered in a mass shooting at Mother Emmanuel AME Church. During remarks at Sunday services after Pinckney’s funeral, Biden described how churchgoers gave him strength following the death of his son Beau.

Biden returned to Mother Emmanuel as president in 2024, speaking about the continued efforts to combat racial injustice for “the soul of the nation.”

Biden campaigned extensively in South Carolina as a candidate in 2020 and secured the endorsement of Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). When Biden clinched the state during the 2020 primaries, it was a pivotal moment in becoming the Democratic presidential nominee.

When the president visited Mother Emmanuel in 2024, he praised his relationship with both the state and Clyburn.

“It’s because of this congregation and the black community of South Carolina and—not exaggeration—and Jim Clyburn that I stand here today as your president, because of all of you,” Biden said. “That’s a fact. That’s a fact. And I owe you.”

Biden had planned to visit Italy as the last international trip of his presidency, but the trip was canceled because of the California wildfires. The president still awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction to Pope Francis and spoke with him by phone.

In his closing remarks at Royal Missionary Baptist Church on Jan. 19, Biden thanked the congregation and the country, saying it was the honor of his life to serve them as president.