"We have moved into an era where we are called upon to raise certain basic questions about the whole society. We are still called upon to give aid to the beggar who finds himself in misery and agony on life's highway. But one day, we must ask the question of whether an edifice which produces beggars must not be restructured and refurbished."
(1968)
On this National Holiday, so long in coming, so hard-won, let us remember the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who preached nonviolence, led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, wrote the Letter from a Birmingham Jail, and made the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington a foundational moment in our national history.

But let us also remember the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who understood that "True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice"; who opposed the Vietnam War; and who stood in solidarity with workers, sought to bring national attention to American poverty, and spoke eloquently of economic justice for people of all races.

And let us remember not a saint, a redeemer, or a singular figure. Let us instead remember a fallible, ever-developing human being, influenced by Christ, Ghandi and Marx, whose philosophy and strategy changed and grew over time, for both principled and pragmatic reasons; a comrade working in concert with many, many others - some close allies, some fiercely independent, some remembered, some long forgotten - to build not just an idea of racial equality, but a broad-based movement for social justice.

Finally, let us honor his memory by appraising our world as he did his - and by comprehending, as he did, just how much remains to be done.

"I must confess that I have enjoyed being on this mountaintop and I am tempted to want to stay here and retreat to a more quiet and serene life. But something within reminds me that the valley calls me in spite of all its agonies, dangers, and frustrating moments. I must return to the valley. Something tells me that the ultimate test of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and moments of convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and moments of controversy."
(1965)