Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the Inauguration

In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, more than 40 years after his assassination, let us struggle even harder for the values that we share with him. For peace: in Iraq, in Gaza, in Afghanistan, in the Sudan and all the lesser-known conflicts, for an end to hunger, in Zimbabwe and all over the work, an end to oppression, poverty, HIV/AIDs, lack of opportunity, lack of education. Let continue to donate our time and our dollars, but remember his statement that “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary,” and always continue to fight injustice in all of its forms.

And tomorrow, as Barack Obama, our first African-American President, takes the oath of office, let us hold that as a sign of hope for all of us for the future.