San Mateo Adult School is closed on MLK Day.
It is a Federal Holiday. Schools and banks and government offices are closed.
Why do we remember and honor and celebrate Dr. King?
Dr. King pushed for civil rights for everyone. He wanted everyone to have the same chances. He wanted everyone to have equal dignity. Dignity means respect and importance. He knew everyone was equal. He also knew that this equality must be recognized. Sometimes we pretend not to see something. Dr. King knew it was important to see the value in every person, including ourselves.
He challenged people - everyone, including his friends, his enemies, and presidents - to think more deeply about how we see ourselves and the choices we make for ourselves, each other, and our future. Are we treating others fairly? Do we see the dignity in every person?
Dr. King said the most important question in everyone's life is "What are you doing for others?"
In honor of this, Martin Luther King Day is a Day of Service. You can find out how to get involved in the MLK Day of Service by clicking here.
He made huge effort to help others. He wrote books. He planned and led events and marches. He gave speeches.
Two of his speeches are very, very famous.
In the first, the "I have a dream" speech, Dr. King talks about the dream of equality for all people.
In the second, the "Mountaintop" speech, Dr. King says he knows we, the people of the world, will achieve our dream. He has been to the "mountaintop." He has seen what people can do. He knows what is possible. He says maybe he will not make it there. But he knows we can and someday will.
Dr. King was African-American and he worked hard for equal rights, including the right to vote, for African-Americans. But he did not push for only African-Americans. He pushed for everyone.
In the last part of his life, he talked more and more about poor people. He started a Poor People's Campaign. Not everyone supported him in this work. They thought he was asking for too much change too fast for too many people.
He was assassinated (killed) the day after his Mountaintop speech. His dream of peace and equality and security for everyone scared some people. They were so scared of his ideas and his skill at expressing them and making dreams real that they killed him.
But they could not kill his ideas. They could not kill the work he did and the good he accomplished. And they could not kill all the people who share his ideas and continue to work for peace and equality and security for everyone.
Dr. King knew this. He knew he didn't own the work. The work to make a better future belongs to everyone.
Dr. King was a great teacher about positive change.
He explained that everyone has worth. Everyone has dignity. That is the beginning. With this in mind, he asked people to have a vision of a good future.
He explained that it is possible to make our visions real. But we must understand we are part of a our community. We do not work alone. Everyone's contribution matters. Each of us is responsible for our share of the work. Each of us gets good result when we make effort. Together, the results are good and huge.
You can read more about Dr. King here and here.
On Monday morning, you can join the San Mateo Martin Luther King Day Celebration at 8:30 am at the Downtown San Mateo Caltrain Station. You can get information about the event here.
Whatever you do this Monday, take a moment to consider these questions:
Do you see your value? Do you respect yourself?
Do the see the value in others? Do you respect them?
What is your vision of something better for your life? For your community? For the world?
What are you doing to make that vision real?
You and your contribution matter.
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