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"Don't turn against, lean into each other," President Biden urges in Charleston

202President Joe Biden embraces Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., as he arrives on Air Force One at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.
Stephanie Scarbrough
/
Associated Press
President Joe Biden embraces Congressman Jim Clyburn after arriving at Joint Base Charleston in North Charleston on Jan. 19, 2025.

President Joe Biden shares gratitude and hope as he celebrates MLK day early during his final full day in office in Charleston.

As President Joe Biden and the first lady carefully descended the stairs of Air Force One, on a slick, overcast day at Joint Base Charleston Sunday, there was a familiarity about the visit, a kind of homecoming if you will.

The first family has vacationed on Kiawah Island. They’ve grieved with the families of the Mother Emanuel massacre, unexpectedly finding solace in the loss of their own son Beau. President Biden has debated, campaigned, and even received a key endorsement in Charleston.

President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden arrive in Charleston aboard Air Force One Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020.
Victoria Hansen
/
South Carolina Public Radio
President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden arrive in Charleston aboard Air Force One Sunday on the president's final, full day in office. Jan. 19, 2020.

But this trip to the Lowcountry is how the outgoing president decided to spend his final, full day in office; showing gratitude for the state that paved the road to the White House and celebrating the message of one of his childhood heroes, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

President Joe Biden speaks during a church service at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.
Stephanie Scarbrough
/
AP
President Joe Biden speaks during a church service at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.

“We know the struggle toward redeeming the soul of this nation is difficult and ongoing,” President Biden told worshippers at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston.

“The distance is short between peril and possibility,” he said.

“But faith teaches us the America of our dreams is always closer than we think.”

President Joe Biden at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston on Jan. 19, 2025.
Gavin Jackson
/
SCETV
President Joe Biden worships with congregants at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston. Jan. 19, 2025.

It was a family affair at the historic church as the president was flanked in the first pew by not only his wife, but his son Hunter Biden as well as longtime colleague and friend Congressman Jim Clyburn. Sitting behind them, a who’s who of dignitaries including the recently elected and first Black mayor of North Charleston, Reggie Burgess.

But of all the dignitaries in attendance, it was Clyburn’s endorsement in 2020 that made Biden’s presidency possible.

“I would not be standing here in this pulpit if it were not for Jim Clyburn,” Biden said.

President Joe Biden and Congressman Jim Clyburn at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston on Jan. 19, 2025.
Gavin Jackson
/
SCETV
President Joe Biden chats with Congressman Jim Clyburn as he prepares to leave Royal Missionary Baptist Church. Jan. 19, 2025.

After more than an hour of joyful, soul lifting song and a sermon about the gifts of struggle, the president’s heavily guarded motorcade whisked him away to a site in Charleston where historians estimate nearly half of all Africans enslaved in this country were brought ashore in shackles, Gadsden’s Wharf.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden tour the International African American Museum with museum President and CEO Tonya Matthews in Charleston on Jan. 19, 2025.
Gavin Jackson
/
SCETV
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visit a Gullah Geechee exhibit as they tour the International African American Museum in Charleston. Museum President and CEO Tonya Matthews points to a bateau, a shallow, flat-bottomed boat. Jan. 19, 2025.

The hallowed land is now home to the city’s new International African American Museum. The President and first lady, Jill Biden, toured two of the museum’s galleries, paying tribute to people who persevered despite being kidnapped, sold and stripped of their identities.

Former longtime Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, who dreamed of sharing the untold stories of African Americans and made the museum possible, held his wife’s hand as he proudly looked on.

“You should have a statue of Joe in here,” President Biden remarked.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the International African American Museum Charleston on Jan. 19, 2025.
Gavin Jackson
/
SCETV
President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the International African American Museum Charleston on Jan. 19, 2025.

Outside, beneath the lofted museum, people gathered to hear from the president on his final day. A large banner hung above the stage reading, "President Biden, Soul of the Nation.”

Among those waiting in the crowd was Charles Brave who shared his concerns about the days ahead, with the inauguration of a new president, Donald Trump.

“The Democratic process has taken place whether we like it or not,” Brave said. “We got what we got now. We've got to figure our way through.”

The sun came out and a chilly wind whipped through the waterfront stage, as Congressman Clyburn took the began to speak. He touted the president’s numerous accomplishments, especially for women and African Americans.

“Joe looks beyond our zip codes and addresses our needs,” Clyburn said. “He is the most compassionate public servant that I’ve ever worked with.”

Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., left, presents President Joe Biden with a Carolina maple wood and hand woven sweetgrass basket gifted from the International African American Museum, in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.
Stephanie Scarbrough
/
AP
Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., left, presents President Joe Biden with a Carolina maple wood and hand woven sweetgrass basket gifted from the International African American Museum, in Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025.

Then, Clyburn invited the president to join him, gifting him with handwoven sweetgrass basked adorned at its center with Carolina Maplewood. The gift is symbolic as the wood is from land where enslaved Africans once labored and sweetgrass fanner baskets have long been used by Africans for winnowing rice, that is separating the hull from the chaff.

The gift’s sentiment wasn’t lost on President Biden.

“There has been a long line of Black patriots who have helped make the promise of America real for all Americans, who have helped us become the nation we say we are and want to be.”

As Biden wrapped up his final, official trip as president and headed back to Joint Base Charleston, people lined downtown streets, waving and holding signs. Many read, “We love Joe”.

Victoria Hansen is our Lowcountry connection covering the Charleston community, a city she knows well. She grew up in newspaper newsrooms and has worked as a broadcast journalist for more than 20 years. Her first reporting job brought her to Charleston where she covered local and national stories like the Susan Smith murder trial and the arrival of the Citadel’s first female cadet.
Gavin Jackson graduated with a visual journalism degree from Kent State University in 2008 and has been in the news industry ever since. He has worked at newspapers in Ohio, Louisiana and most recently in South Carolina at the Florence Morning News and Charleston Post and Courier.