Living the Dream: Greatness through service
As the nation pauses to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King for the indelible mark he made in the world, let us remember that he taught that each of us has the potential to be change agent:
“Everybody can be great ... because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
Dr. King was a servant leader with those attributes. A pastor, theologian, husband, father, brother and son, Dr. King’s served as the public face and private strategist of the Civil Rights Movement – a movement begun in the hearts, minds, homes, and houses of worship of people committed to holding America accountable for the crux of her creed: that “all men are created equal.”
His non-violent approach - whether leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott or standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial proclaiming his “I Have a Dream” speech – contrasted sharply with the deplorable conditions under which African-Americans were subjected theretofore.
Under Dr. King’s leadership, unjust Jim Crow Laws in the segregated South were met with protests and sit-ins; elsewhere unfair practices in hiring, housing and voting rights were met with boycotts and marches, prayers and songs.
And slowly but surely America began to deliver on her promise.
Still, more than 45 years after his death, millions of people are living below the poverty line; the achievement gap between students of color and their white counterparts has widened; the digital divide between urban and rural areas has deepened; voting rights are threatened; and even the most venerable places of our society – schools and houses of worship – have become vulnerable to gun violence.
Yet, in the face of such bleak realities we must endeavor, as Ghandi asserted, to “be the change that we want to see in the world.”
We must be willing to work together to help the least among us achieve the most.
We mustn’t be complacent nor think that we are somehow exempted from the universal responsibility to improve the lives our fellow citizens.
For as Dr. King observed, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”
This King Day, I pray that each of our lives answers that question with a resounding and relentless commitment to serve humankind.
Happy Birthday, Dr. King!
Respectfully submitted,
Rev. Kevin T. Taylor
Rev. Taylor is the pastor of Union A.M.E. Church in Warwick. Union hosts its annual MLK Observance on Monday, Jan. 20 at 11 a.m.