Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the only federal holiday that honors a private American citizen. An iconic figure in our nation’s history, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a great preacher, orator and inspiration to people of all walks of life. His words and teachings continue to inspire us today.

King preached nonviolence while leading the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s. A Baptist minister and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. King dreamed of a world where all people were treated as equal and truly had equal rights. He promoted using peaceful means to reach that dream. Tragically his life was cut short when he was shot and killed April 4, 1968 before a planned demonstration in Tennessee.

“All I’m saying is simply this, that all life is interrelated, that somehow we’re caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason, I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. You can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.”

—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Warren, Mervyn A.; Taylor, Gardner C. (2008). “King Came Preaching: The Pulpit Power of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” InterVarsity Press. p. 174.

Each one of us is a part of the whole, and the power to create change begins within, one of us at a time, until we become what we ought to be.