This is a national holiday with national implications. This is not a holiday for rest, frivolity and play. This is a day for re-affirmation and commitment to the principles of social justice and positive social change. In the 50's and 60's racism and racial discrimination were the most important crises facing America. In a nation that proclaimed liberty and justice for all, too many Black Americans were living with neither.
Bigotry still mars America.
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is a day not only to remember the man but to rededicate ourselves to acquiring a deep understanding of the nature of racism in the U.S. and the ways in which racism and other anti-humane values impact negatively on our society and the world. Those who perpetuate racism also perpetuate homophobia. The Right Wing which today openly preaches its brand of intolerance, racism and national chauvinism opposed Dr. King's quest for freedom and equality. While Dr. King and others were marching, working and dying to assure fuller acceptance of and participation by all U.S. citizens in the affairs of the nation, many of the leaders of today's religious Right Wing organizations were condemning and accusing him of being under the influence of the Communists. Jerry Falwell publicly made this accusation on March 21, 1965.