With Inauguration Day falling on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it’s understandable that this year’s King holiday does not feel like a moment of celebration. Today ushers in a new era in Washington “in which those with power have pledged to dismantle efforts that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, while the assault on our civil and voting rights persists,” Southern Poverty Law Center President and CEO Margaret Huang writes at The Daily Kos.
However, we can find a path forward in the words of King, particularly in his call for economic justice. Huang notes that King “believed that a multiracial coalition of poor and working-class people could come together to demand better jobs, wages, housing, education and health care. He called for the prioritization of people over profit and for more equitable distribution of wealth and resources.”
That same struggle continues today. Pursuing King’s vision is a way to protect his legacy and advance economic justice and racial equality.
“By building coalitions with others who are vulnerable and helping them understand that prosperity does not have to come at the expense of any community, we can ensure that our voices reverberate through our town halls, our state legislatures and our nation’s capital,” Huang writes.
Read the entire commentary at The Daily Kos.
Image at top: Along Constitution Avenue in the nation’s capital, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. locks arms with other leaders of the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. (Credit: Bettmann/Getty)