Martin Luther King Day is not time for rest, relaxation
For a change of pace, here is a statement pretty much all of us can agree with: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a dreamer. ● Countless voices around the nation will repeat the most famous part of the American patriot’s celebrated 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech on Monday as we celebrate the holiday designated in King’s honor. “I have a dream that my 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. I have a dream today,” King said.
Many of us will have Monday off work for the national holiday, but the point of Martin Luther King Day is not a day for rest and relaxation. ● It is “a day on, not a day off ” for volunteerism, bridge building and the pursuit of solutions that move the nation closer to King’s vision of the “beloved community.” ● We urge you to work toward a community in which everyone is cared for, one without poverty, hunger and hate. ● This call to action is nothing new, but it is worth repeating considering the divisive state we find ourselves in over a myriad of issues: voting rights, mask mandates, racial inequality and economic justice, the global pandemic and so forth. ● Dreaming is not enough, and it was not enough in King’s day.