In his final speech, the night before he was cut down by an assassin’s bullet, Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of reaching “the Promised Land.” His words made clear that he felt that while we were not there yet, the “Promised Land” was indeed in sight. Today, nearly 53 years later, while we have made much progress – progress that surely would have made him proud – the events of this past year, culminating with the armed insurrection by White Supremacists, Neo-Nazis and other Right-wing groups, made clear that there is so much more work yet to be done in America. Martin Luther King, Jr., though born 153 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, is every bit a “founding father” of this great country as any of the men and women who fought valiantly to bring it into existence. While they set the foundation for a nation of equal justice under law, through his life’s work and the inspiration through nonviolent protest that it engendered, Martin Luther King, Jr. constructed the framework of what was and will become that “perfect union,” that “promised land.” “No, we are not there yet. As we celebrate the life of this great American, in the shadow of the dark days that have so starkly reminded us that racism and hatred are still much alive in our country, it remains the obligation of all Americans – Black and White and Brown, no matter whether native to this land or “just off the boat” – to carry on the quest of nonviolent determination to confront evil and hatred and the persistence of racism until it is no more. His vision for a better America, an America of equal justice AND equal economic opportunity for ALL people, should continue to be the light that guides us through this ominous time toward the Promised Land of which he dreamed. On this day, we all commit to that great endeavor. Jay S. Jacobs Chairman
