Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King

Friends:

As we pause this year to celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is fair to consider what kind of progress this nation is making towards his goals.  Dr. King sought justice for the people, truth for the nation and peace for the world.

Dr. King recognized that the next frontier in the civil rights struggle was and is economic empowerment.  Today, millions of Americans still live in poverty and millions more on its precipice.  Hurricane Katrina laid bare the state of our union when it comes to supporting the least fortunate among us. 

Dr. King would be shocked and saddened that, in a country that claims to be the leader of the free world, 46 million people have no health insurance. 

He would note that many who have entered the mainstream of American life continue to face discrimination that prevents them from advancing further and fully contributing their creative energies to this nation's economic future.  If America is to realize all of its potential, our leaders must commit themselves to policies that will benefit the whole community, rather than a favored few. 

Dr. King was criticized by many when he dared to carry his moral crusade beyond the civil rights arena and into the debate on Vietnam.  I believe that if Dr. King were alive today, he would dare to ask the question:  Why are we spending billions of dollars in Iraq when communities here in America are crumbling from neglect?  What of the millions of children who face starvation in Africa?  Why are we not wielding our moral and material resources to bend the attention of the world in the direction of Darfur?

On Tuesday, we will return to our hectic lives.  If we work together to sustain the remembrance of Dr. King and his vision as we go about our daily tasks, I am certain that it will bring clarity and purpose to our ongoing struggle to build a more just society. 

Yours,