Riding off the high that comes with being in a New Year, I think we can all agree that having a Monday off at the beginning of the year feels just like the mini refresher we all needed. People are getting back into their rhythms at work, life is starting to resume back to normal after the holidays, and a lot of us are ready to start this new year off on the right foot. As awesome as that is, I have fallen prey to the concept of MLK Day being just an “off” day, using it to either do nothing, complete miscellaneous tasks, or catch up on emails I couldn’t get to during the week. While there’s nothing wrong with that considering that we don’t get many three-day weekends in the year, I still had to wonder; have I ever really stopped to think about why we have this day off? Have I ever stopped to reflect on the legacy and impact that Dr. King has left us with in this country, and how far we have come since his time? Sadly the answer is no, but this year I decided to change that. This year I wanted to really observe, reflect, and write about the uttermost importance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his incredible work.

In all honesty, I think that we need an MLK Week to be able to fully digest and process all of the amazing things Dr. King did during his time here. With him being the most influential leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s, he definitely deserves to be honored in a big way; thank goodness we have Black History Month too! 

The fact that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rose to the challenge he was presented with (segregation and unequal rights) and led a movement where progress was made through love and not violence really says a lot about his character, and how devoted he was to the cause of ALL people being treated equally regardless of the color of their skin. 

As a Black woman, it is quite unsettling to think that if I was born in a different decade then I would’nt be able to associate with most people that I currently work with, hang out with, and have friendships with just because I’m Black. Not only is segregation “not fair”, but it is downright immoral based on the pillars that the Constitution claims to stand on. The beautiful thing about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is that in recognizing this tragedy, he chose to not spew hate about our White counterparts and further divide us, but instead encouraged them to join in on the conversation too and do something about the injustices that our community was facing! He was creating a united front between ALL races, so that we could celebrate our uniqueness and beauty together as one.

Another thing that I love about Dr. King is that in looking through a lot of the letters he wrote, whether it be to his White counterparts or to the general public, he really highlighted the beauty of our Blackness instead of the pain and trauma that we faced. He realized that as an oppressed people, someone had to convince us that we deserve to be oppressed in the first place, thus convincing us that we are worth less than what we actually are. Though I think that most people can comprehend the fact that African Americans have been largely oppressed throughout the history of America, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked hard to turn that narrative around and show people that we are ALL worthy of human decency regardless of where we come from and what our cultural background is. He was fed up with the system, so he made a change, and a big one at that!! All the marches, protests, and sit-ins that he was involved in made it clear that he meant business and wasn’t playing around! 

Thankfully we are now at a point in America where we all can all work, befriend, worship with, eat with, and hangout with people that are different from us, which is a HUGE difference from what it once was. However, it would be ignorant to say that there still isn’t a whole lot of work to be done for all of us be considered truly equal in America. While yes, Black men and women aren’t getting lynched in the streets anymore, the blood of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, and countless other Black lives flow out on the streets of America every day crying out for justice. I encourage conversations like these, although heavy, to really bring to light the weeds of racism that are still stuck in our American soil to this day.

Despite the progress still to be made, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his work have completely disrupted how we are able to socialize and coexist today, which attests to how powerful love and unity really are – more about that in another post (: 

As we go throughout the week, even though MLK Day proper has passed, I encourage you to find ways to recognize and acknowledge how far we have come as a people, and uplift the voices of others who may have a different perspective than yours. The legacy of Dr. King’s work still lives, and his mission did not pass away when he did – it is our job to continue to strive for what is right! Even turn it into action if you can! Supporting Black-owned businesses, becoming more educated on social issues that Dr. King stood for, maybe watching a Civil Rights documentary or even visiting a museum – all good things that allow our support and knowledge to unite! 

We all have the power to be leaders in our communities just like Dr. King was, its just going to take some courage (:

How will you stand up for justice today?