By: Challen Wellington
It is in the month of January that we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He is well-known for his advocacy work to promote civil rights for Black Americans. However, he also was a strong advocate for service and human rights in general, especially nearing the end of his life.
After his life was tragically taken, the country was still so deeply divided, much like it is now, but his wife, Coretta Scott King sought the need to memorialize her husband. She was a huge supporter of his work during his lifetime, and even personally contributed towards advancing the work of social justice. Even though they are not often in the limelight of the media, Black women have always been at the forefront of justice movements. While it may be a means of morality, it is also a “life-and-death struggle for survival and liberation“ (Combahee River Collective, 1977). It is imperative to acknowledge that the struggle for justice from some of the most marginalized people in society, is not a question of politics or party affiliation, it is a literal fight to demand the right to exist.
One of the prime tenets that we can see in women like Coretta Scott King, Patrisse Cullors, and Angela Davis, is the intense need for liberation for everyone. Fannie Lou Hamer said we need “liberation of all people-because nobody is free until everybody’s free” and it is the product of years of work that we have come to where we are in 2021 (Hamer, 1971).
On the precipice of a historic inaugural moment, we see the first woman, Kamala Harris, sworn in as the Vice President of the United States. Not only is she a woman, she is also Black and Indian, and the product of two immigrant parents. This level of power and influence would not have been possible without the work of those that came before her and beside her. Women like Stacy Abrams, Diane Nash, and Coretta Scott King, all value education and are proud of the tools they learned through academic and life’s educational moments. It is in times like this, as we embark on a new journey with more diverse leadership, that we must take time to honor, highlight and learn from a group of people who have continuously broken glass ceilings and taught us how to drive progress. Dr. King said “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education” (King, 1947).
I hope to continuously join in the efforts of celebrating the legacy of Dr. King, by highlighting groups of people whose stories may have been overlooked and to have opportunities of education to learn from, embrace, support, and celebrate Black women as crusaders in the fight against injustice. “An injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere” (King, 1963).