Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day from Safer Foundation
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was only 25 years old when he became pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama in 1954. In a few short months he was catapulted into the Montgomery Bus Boycott and went on to become a national leader of the Civil Rights Movement and a global voice for human rights.
His last book, “Where Do We Go from Here – Chaos or Community?” (1968), called into question the humanity of global capitalism at the expense of people in marginalized communities.
From time immemorial men have lived by the principle that “self-preservation is the first law of life.” But this is a false assumption. I would say that other-preservation is the first law of life. It is the first law of life precisely because we cannot preserve self without being concerned about preserving other selves. The universe is so structured that things go awry if men are not diligent in their cultivation of the other-regarding dimension. “I” cannot reach fulfillment without “thou.”
- P. 190
His prophetic clarity on these questions is very evident in the disparities we see today in community and the systems, policies and practices, like mass incarceration, that are creating the disruptions we see all around us.
In a real sense all life is interrelated. The agony of the poor impoverishes the rich; the betterment of the poor enriches the rich. We are inevitably our brother’s keeper because we are our brother’s brother. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.
- P. 191:
On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, we at Safer Foundation humbly say thank you Dr. King and invite each of you to find your own way to live out the spirt of his fight for justice.
“Where Do We Go from Here – Chaos or Community?”
by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Beacon Press: Boston MA
Copyright 1968 by Martin Luther King, Jr. Copyright renewed 1986 by Coretta Scott King, Dexter King, Martin Luther King, III, Yolanda King and Bernice King
Social Photo Credit
Martin Luther King Jr, Walk to Freedom Detroit Michigan, 1963 by Andrew McFarlane licensed by CC BY-ND 2.0
Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site by National Park Service licensed by CC BY-ND 2.0
Injustice Can’t Be Stopped By Inaction by Viewminder licensed by CC BY-ND 2.0
