What Monday isn’t

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is not about a day off work or catching sales in the stores. It’s a day for doing the hard work of introspection, of evaluating what more each of us could do to reduce racism and promote equity in our community. And it’s a day to gather together, since perhaps the most significant lesson left by Dr. King is that when many people stand up for what’s right, as a group we can make more impact than any one of us as individuals. Rosa Parks was a leader, but it took the bus boycott to make her single action of refusing to give up her seat a turning point. Dr. King was the leader, but many marched with him. We need warm hearts, caring minds, and people standing up to be counted, in huge numbers, as well as inspirational words from individual leaders, to make the big changes that need to be made in our city, state, country, and world.

Yesterday’s Oregonian carried a front page article about the Legislature continuing to work through the national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. That is certainly hard for legislators who want to be at home, attending events honoring Dr. King’s life and goals with their constituents. But I’ve attended at least six rallies at the Legislature on Presidents’ Day, lobbying for school funding, and always felt grateful that legislators were working on the one day of the month I was able to get away from my own jobs. I think Dr. King would be glad, if some folks celebrated his memory on Monday by going to Salem and participating in non-violent advocacy by talking with legislators about whatever they’re passionate about.

I hope everyone will plan on doing something special on Monday, other than sleeping in and picking up bargains at the mall. Last year, I marched with the Sisters of the Road, listened to Jeri Sundvall (Executive Director of the Environmental Justice Action Group) give an awesome speech afterwards, and attended the “Keeping the Dream Alive!” celebration at Jefferson High School. This year, my husband and I will be out of town, so I’ll be limited to highlighting MLK-related issues and events on this blog, and doing some more reading to learn more about his life and work. For those in town:

The World Arts Foundation has moved the “Keeping the Dream Alive!” program to Highland Christian Center, 7600 NE Glisan Street, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The change in location is of concern to many Jefferson High School advocates, and to all Portlanders valuing its traditional location there. But the agenda (click on “King program” in the link above – it doesn’t have its own URL that I can find) still looks inspiring.

Sisters of the Road will feature Willie Baptist as the keynote speaker for the 15th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. march and rally,

The march begins at 2 pm on Monday January 15, 2007, starting at Sisters (133 NW 6th Ave). At 3pm, the march will leave from there and follow West Broadway, ending at a rally at 4pm at St. Mary’s Academy (1615 SW 5th). Willie Baptist is a formerly homeless father who is now the Education Director of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union of Philadelphia and the Co-Coordinator of the University of the Poor, a program of the Poor People’s Economic Rights Campaign.

If you do nothing else, please click on at least one of these links and find out more about these organizations and issues.