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Monday, January 20, is Martin Luther King Day, a day recognizing one of the racial justice movement’s great leaders.
Martin Luther King Jr. is famous for many things, his great speeches, his leadership, and certainly his commitment to non-violent civil disobedience, which changed the future of social justice movements. One reason he is so enduring and inspiring a figure is that he saw the connection between racial justice and other economic and social justice movements.
As governments cut programs that promote equality and attack unions and other groups that advocate for human rights and social justice, we would do well to remember the words of Dr. King.
In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right-to-work.’ This high-sounding label does not mean what it says. It is a dishonest twisting of words with the aim of making a vicious law sound like a good law. It provides no ‘rights’ and no ‘work.’ It is a law to rob us of our Civil Rights and our job rights…. Its purpose is to destroy labour unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions for everyone. Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer and there are no Civil Rights.
—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1963)
Martin Luther King Day is a day to reflect on the life, beliefs and actions of the man, but more importantly it is a time to recognize the relationships that existed between the American civil rights movement and those elsewhere that sought to gain equality for marginalized people.
On this day, we encourage you to reflect on his words and work. He was a friend to the labour movement who recognized that together, labour and civil rights activists can create a fair, just and equal society.
This year, your local can help advance these causes by sending delegates to the upcoming Racial Justice and Human Rights conferences. Together, we can build a strong union and stand up for fairness for racialized workers.
