top of page

Martin Luther King Jr. Day - Continual Pursuit of Civil Equality

Now is a great time to resonate on Martin Luther King Jr.'s mission, purpose, and values. In my perspective, freedom, fairness, kindness and civility for all were his key drivers.  Digging a little deeper into this brave, compassionate, and visionary man, I turned to where else but the internet.  Born Michael King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement, up until his assassination.  He advocated for civil equality through the use of non-violent means.  Not only did he advance the rights for people of color, such as himself, but he was instrumental in advancing the right to vote, desegregation, labor rights, civil rights, poverty, and more.  His words and actions demonstrated a great respect and love for all people.   

 

Although King experienced adversity with jail time, investigations, threats, violence, and hateful words, he did not drive his movement with an iron fist, he promoted peaceful talks, marches, and resolutions.  According to Wikipedia, on October 14, 1964, King won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance.  Maintaining a peace-driven mindset after all of the struggles took resiliency. 

 

In his famous speech, "I Have a Dream", delivered in 1963 at the March on Washington event, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., King begins by pointing out that one hundred years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, there still was not freedom for all from discrimination, segregation, and the opportunity for prosperity, and calls it a "shameful condition".   King went on to say that "when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir...black men as well as white men would be guaranteed the 'unalienable Rights' of 'Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.'"  Noting the vital priority, he states "We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now...Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy...to the sunlit path of racial justice, to the solid rock of brotherhood.  Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."  Complacency had no place in his message, as he said "The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges."  He stresses that those that hope those "crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination" will simply "need to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual."  

 

With the words spoken in King's "I Have a Dream" speech 62 years ago, I stop to think of how far we have, or have not, come from his movement of activism in achieving equitable freedom for all.  I also recognize that although we are more similar than different, the differences do go beyond race, gender, and beliefs and I brought that message to a recent speaking engagement.  I just spoke at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Inclusion 2024 conference on the topic of Inspiring Cognitive Diversity to Celebrate Unique Personalities.  During my presentation, we talked about different diversity characteristics while drilling down to the greatest difference as being our individual personalities.  No two people think, feel, or act alike.  The only true commonality is that we are all human, doing the best we can with what we have. To that light, offering others PEKs, “Patience, Empathy, and Kindness”, can go a long way towards that more civil world that Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of.  Now is a good time to reflect on our own efforts, and our organizations' progress, to continue the King's movement.   Are we moving forward or are there signs that we have slipped backwards in areas?  Let’s each do our part to keep pressing onward, including giving PEKs to others and to ourselves.    


Team training on DEI topics is critical for your organization's success. Feel free to contact me if I can be of service to you.



Martin Luther King Jr. talking to a crowd holding had out.  black and white photo

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


 HR Solutions, LLC 

Great Falls, Montana, USA

Leadership Development | Workforce Training | Keynote Speaker | Human Resource Management Consulting

© 2023 HR Solutions, LLC.  All Rights Reserved.

Contact Us:   Deborah.HRS@outlook.com

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
bottom of page