Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States. The Rev. Dr. King was an American clergyman, activist, and iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods of activism and protest. Dr. King used his voice to become a passionate advocate for social justice, racial equality, and an end to discrimination. Although there is still much work to be done in our communities to achieve the goals of social justice and equality, Dr. King’s work can inspire us to find and use our own voices to take action.
Youth have important contributions to make to debates on issues that affect them and their communities. The youth who contribute to this blog, for example, are using their voices to raise issues and concerns, and to share their thoughts, creativity, and perspectives with a wider online community. Youth can use their voices – as individuals or part of a larger collective – to advocate for change.
For example, youth have been involved in the recent Occupy Toronto movement, and have been active in the protest against cuts to social and community programming in the upcoming City of Toronto budget, which will be voted on by City Councilors this week. Mayor Rob Ford had requested that all city departments reduce their budgets by 10%, but citizens have spoken out against proposed cuts to arts grants, library services, community partnership funding, public transit services, and community centres and pools. The outcry over the proposed cuts led the Mayor’s Executive Committee to reject or soften the more controversial proposals, but citizens – including youth – will continue to rally this week in an effort to protect the services most valuable to their communities.
What can you learn from Dr. King? Who inspires you to take action in your community? What are the issues that compel you to act? Think about how you can use your voice to make a difference – and how we can work together to create change. Think about these words from Dr. King: “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.”
Click here to watch a clip from Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
Hello! Just want to say thank you for this interesting article! =) Peace, Joy.