Leadership for a Better World: Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

There’s no question that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential humans ever to walk the earth. One of the most incredible, better world humans, you can say with confidence. His passion for equality was incredibly inspiring, and in honor of MLK day this year, we must remember his legacy.

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” -MLK

Fifty years later, in his book Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? It still rings true and is directly applicable to today’s issues.

We as humans have come to another realization that even though the Civil Rights Movement was 50+ years ago, we still need to work towards justice. Until all humans are treated equally in the United States, we must continue to dismantle racism and structures that have kept racism in its place.

We must be courageous to drive difficult conversations while remaining peaceful in the process. Peaceful as a means of non-violent protest, but pressure on those in power to be accountable for their actions. 2021 is the year of accountability. Many corporate companies have pledged millions and even billions of dollars to fight racial inequality. That’s great, but we must hold them accountable.

• We must hold police departments that abuse their power and kill our unarmed Black members of our community.
• We need to work relentlessly to ensure an excellent education is provided to all of our youth, not just the privileged. Notice that we said excellent, not adequate. If we are to claim ourselves as the free world leader, then we must demand excellence for our youth.
• We have to listen, especially for those of us with privilege.
• We must be role models for justice through our actions, not just our words.

If MLK were alive today, he would also remind us that we need to restructure our priorities. Why in 2021 are there still people living in extreme poverty in the United States? We have the resources to distribute among all humans in America, but also the world. So why don’t we?

Every human being deserves to have a roof over their head, clean water, and proper nutrition access. Why are we attempting to civilize Mars when there are people who go to bed hungry at night?

Love and compassion must drive our society forward, not material greed. We are not advocating for stripping our individuality away; we advocate for compassion for our fellow humans to have basic life necessities to survive. We demand that all human beings be treated equally regardless of skin color, sexuality, gender, nationality, language, or disability.

2021 is the year we must honor Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy and step up to the plate for justice, compassion, peace, and equality. Together, we can bring about real tangible change and build a better world.