In his final public speech on April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reflected on several impactful events in the movement he shepherded, including the student-led lunch counter sit-ins of 1960.
“I knew that as they were sitting in,” King said, “they were really standing up for the best in the American dream and taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy, which were dug deep by the founding fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.”
This Martin Luther King Jr. Day — especially in this year, which will mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence — prompts reflection on the enduring influence of King, who stood up for the best of America’s founding ideals.
For inspiration to take the kind of bridgebuilding action King’s activism demonstrated, explore these stories about his legacy of civic engagement.
Listen: What Was the Role of Religion in The Civil Rights Movement?
“We’re not as comfortable talking about [King’s] Christianity. We’re not as comfortable talking about his radical Christianity in particular. We’ve softened him to the point that he wouldn’t recognize himself in this vision that we’ve created – ‘I have a dream’” said Martin Luther King Jr. biographer Jonathan Eig, on Interfaith America with Eboo Patel. “So much of what he did was driven by his faith.”
Listen to the full podcast episode, where Eig and Patel discuss the role religion played in King’s life and the movement he built, and the significance of his rhetoric invoking the constitution.
Read: Powerful Voices: A New Look at the Rabbi Who Marched with Martin Luther King
In this piece from the Interfaith America Magazine, IA interviews Julian E. Zelizer, author of “Abraham Joshua Heschel: A Life of Radical Amazement.” Zelizer speaks about Heschel’s relationship with King, his legacy, and the interfaith coalitions that shaped Civil Rights Movement politics.
Watch: United We Build | Episode 1 | Syda’s Story
Bridgebuilder and founder of Organic Oneness, Syda Taylor sees MLK Day as an opportunity to “recogniz[e] what Dr. King stood for,” honoring “his dedication to serving humanity.”
Organic Oneness, the nonprofit behind an Annual King Day of Service, is a grassroots organization dedicated to eliminating racism and creating healthy communities in Chicago. Watch the first installment of the United We Build series, which follows Taylor as she discusses how her Baha’i faith motivates her to serve her community and carry out this annual event.
