EDITORIAL: What can we do to answer the call?

Published 8:00 am Sunday, January 15, 2023

This weekend, the local community and communities nationwide will observe the annual holiday honoring the life, work and vision of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

While today our nation is frequently at a crosswords politically and socially, we mustn’t forget what the landscape looked like when King laid out his vision for the world. The 1950s and ‘60s, the peak of the nation’s Civil Rights Movement, were wrought with unrest and uncertainty, as we often are today. But there was work today in the fight for equality and justice and King courageously led that fight, ultimately giving gave his life for that mission.

We should all take up that example by looking inward and ask ourselves what risks we are willing to take to make our world and our community better.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood before a crowd of thousands on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that late August day more than nearly 60 years ago, he painted a picture of a unified nation, where his children would not be “judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

We remember Dr. King as a crusader for civil rights, non-violence and a messenger for conquering injustices, but he was also a strong proponent of community engagement and activism at the grassroots level to enact change. These are arenas where we can all honor King daily right here at home, through school, government and community. 

We need to ask ourselves what we can do beyond MLK Day to strengthen our communities and our engagement to help ensure that no one is left behind.

We have to set the right example. 

There are numerous challenges before us — in our homes, our neighborhoods and all across our nation — both great and small. We can overcome our challenges, our injustices and our past, and build the society King spoke so eloquently of us one-day achieving. 

We must all look deeply within and do an honest and meaningful assessment of where we are, who we are and what our role is in bringing about the change we seek. 

Only we can decide how we respond to the firestorms that surround us. This is our moment to decide.

We simply must be willing to answer the call.