Honoring the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Standing Up for Justice

As we honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., we renew a deep commitment to justice–a justice denied to so many on the basis of race, class, nationality, immigration status, gender, sexual orientation, religion. In a year dominated by ugly, racist rhetoric and actions by Donald Trump, we need to reaffirm the positive values that should steer our course forward.

When we stand up for justice, we are standing up for human rights. We are standing up against racism in all of its forms. We are standing up for immigrant rights. We are standing up against xenophobia. We are standing up for decency and fairness. We are standing up to build a movement committed to economic and social justice for all.

While Martin Luther King, Jr., has mainly been recognized for his contribution to the fight for racial justice in this country, his values and commitment were more encompassing and he had stepped up in the struggles for workers’ rights, had stood up against the Vietnam War, and had advanced a vision of world peace.

Click here for some amazing photos and lesser-known and often more progressive messages from Martin Luther King, Jr.–messages that were not etched in stone at his memorial in Washington, DC. Moreover, they show the actions he took, above and beyond his words of inspiration and direction.

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant”. — Norway, 1964

In reclaiming the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., we also reclaim the political space needed to deliberately make the interconnections–social, economic, domestic, global–to build a durable and inclusive movement.

Let’s make it a good year for justice!

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Thank you for your support  We are so encouraged by the generous contributions and membership pledges we have received since the November election and over our end-of-year donation period. Thanks to all of you–our longtime supporters and new members and friends. We welcome your continuing support!

We look forward to remaining connected and working actively and collaboratively on a common agenda for rights and justice–now more important that ever!