On the third Monday of each January, we remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
His birthday was actually this past Saturday.
“A day on, not a day off,” MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a
national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their
communities. I know that is hard again this year with COVID, but we can strive for
peace and justice in all our actions, each and every day. If you are like me and
isolated because of COVID, you can still take some time today to reflect on
where we stand as a nation in regards to equality and civil rights.
With legislation and litigation in regards to civil rights, racial equity, and voting
rights going on right now across the country (and across the world), some of the
things Dr. King fought and died for are still at risk today.
Some of my favorite inspirational quotes from Rev. King:
“The time is always right to do what is right.”
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an
inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever
affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort
and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Also, remember that Dr. King was imprisoned 29 times standing up for what was
right but remained a believer in the age-old tradition that hating one's opponents
was not only immoral but bad strategy which perpetuated the cycle of revenge
and retaliation. Only nonviolence, he believed, had the power to break the cycle
of retributive violence and create lasting peace through reconciliation.
