- 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 the skin, but by the content of the character.
- The third Monday in January, marks Martin Luther King Jr.
Day. And as I worked
with James from Balancing Life's Issues,
our DEIB director, which
- Stands for Diversity, equity, inclusion and Belonging,
- I thought to myself, why do we celebrate
MLK Day in January?
Well, some quick Googling, find a reputable source,
the king center.org.
Aha. Turns out it was a legislation introduced days
after his murder that took until 1983 to become law signed
by President Ronald Reagan amongst
controversy because he didn't wanna do it. Bill today
- Creating a national holiday honoring Martin Luther King.
- The White House staged an impressive ceremony.
Today the president and Dr.
King's widow walking into the rose garden together in an
effort to spruce up Mr.
Reagan's tattered civil rights image.
The president signed the bill, which he had
so strongly opposed, making Martin Luther King Jr's
birthday, a national holiday, and he delivered remarks
before some 200 invited guests,
which while not quite calling Dr. King,
a great American were designed to honor him. In
- 1968, Martin Luther King was gunned.
- Ah, there's your answer to why January.
It's his birthday and fun fact.
You know the song Happy Birthday by Stevie Wonder, it's
- Birthday.
- Well, it turns out that was composed for the campaign
that helped bring attention to the legislation.
That song hits different now, doesn't it?
And aside from the King center.org being an extremely
valuable resource about the life
and teachings of Dr. King, it's incredible
to read about the programming
and their message that this holiday is really about
- Everyone in our society.
- And that is what James would like to remind us all about.
Not just today, but every day.
- My name is James Francis and I'm the DEI
and B director here, balancing life issues.
And it's once again, the top of the year.
I find myself reflecting, um, not only on the life and times
and message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
But also his dream
and asking myself, has this dream become one
that has been deferred?
You know, I feel that as a society should certainly
move towards continuing to move the needle
to become a more equitable and caring society.
That was Dr. King's dream,
and as a proud father of two beautiful,
intelligent black girls, I began to wonder
what their feelings were.
Even at 11 years old.
What came out was, dad, we all have a lot of work
to do, and that's important.
This is a way when speaking to younger people
or speaking to a different generation isn't gonna give you a
different form of inspiration, a different perspective,
and that's really the lens that I truly needed.
We can certainly do other things
to continue this message by Dr. King.
One of them is certainly a virtual volunteer program.
No matter where you are in the country, no matter
what time you have, it's flexible.
The ideas of letters against isolation for senior citizens,
for those who are veterans of this great country.
And lastly, signing up to read references of Dr. King,
reading quotes, reading age appropriate books, all
of these things can be done,
and my challenge to not only yourself,
but to me, continue to do these things on a
progressive basis, not just January, not just February,
but on a continual basis.
That is how we impact and inspire change.
I want to read this quote. We must accept
finite disappointment,
but never lose infinite hope, never losing hope.
Although Dr. King was murdered years ago,
these words are still relevant today with the things
that tend to go on in our society.
At times, we are certainly making progress,
but let's make sure
that the dream has certainly not been deferred.
Let's all take actions
and steps to continue this dream
for everyone in our society, for everyone.
Thank you.