As a product of the U.S. public education system, I didkn’t know that the word “nullification” was famously used in Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

But MSNBC’s Rev. Al Sharpton​, who can spot a racist word anywhere (so long as he’s not trying to read it off a teleprompter), is aware. Maybe too aware. He writes in the Huffington Post:

Historic and symbolic for a multitude of reasons, this inauguration also lands on the same day we honor our greatest civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Later this year, we will commemorate the 50th anniversary of his remarkable ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. And yet here we are, getting ready to honor Dr. King on this national holiday, on the day of President Obama’s inauguration, and we hear talk of nullification. … Dr. King had warned of a governor whose lips drip with the words of ‘interposition and nullification.’ In 2013, looks like we need to heed his warnings yet again. …

[T]he most dangerous talk we’ve heard yet is from Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky who speaks of ‘nullifying’ the president’s executive orders. It is precisely this sort of anti-government hysteria that not only disrespects the office of the presidency and our rule of law, but also incites the radicals on the fringe. There’s no place for such rhetoric when the president has been completely transparent and has been working within the bounds of the law. Buzz words like ‘nullify’ are designed to do one thing and one thing only — create hate and division just as they did during the days of Dr. King.

Sharpton is referring to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) who said on Fox News Wednesday that he would introduce legislation to “nullify” Obama’s executive actions to combat gun violence.