As we approach what would have been the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 95th birthday, I encourage everyone to honor the legacy of the civil rights icon by working to emulate his philosophy through our own lives.
King’s extraordinary impact on our society remains interconnected with his philosophy of embracing equality and rejecting bigotry and segregation.
In honor of King, let us commit ourselves to the following: Never discriminate or dislike someone because of race, creed or color; learn to love your fellow man and woman; do something good for someone every day; and give back to those less fortunate when you become successful.
I remain indebted to King’s kindness and guidance. As a college student at Alabama State College, I attended the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where King served as the pastor. I had the privilege of listening to and observing him firsthand. He was a breath of fresh air and an inspiration at a time when I was experiencing many challenges and frustrations in Alabama due to segregation. African Americans were not allowed to drink at certain water fountains. We were prohibited from sitting in certain seats on buses and banned from eating at many restaurants.
Following the lead of King, Rosa Parks and other civil rights leaders, I participated in the Montgomery Bus Boycott that ultimately led to the desegregation of the public transit system.
The systemic racism I experienced in the South cut deep and left a lifelong impression on me, and I’ve dedicated my life to treating people — all people — with fairness and compassion.
It has been a year since I completed my sixth and final term as Illinois’ secretary of state, and I remain filled with gratitude for the trust Illinoisans placed in me for 24 years to serve them in such an important role.
In reflecting on my career in public service, I’m forever appreciative of those who helped me along the way — especially during my impressionable college years in Montgomery. It was there that I encountered one of my earliest mentors, King, and I continue to do everything I can to honor him through my actions.
— Jesse White, former Illinois secretary of state, Chicago
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I always reflect on the last year of his life. He delivered his speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence” at New York’s Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, days ahead of a massive anti-war rally.
A college senior at the time, I had engaged in civil rights and anti-war advocacy and was thrilled King was linking them together. I even made the April 15 rally my one anti-war foray out of Chicago.
Though he long opposed the war privately as a cruel and senseless waste of resources needed to uplift U.S. society, King was reluctant to go public at a time mainstream U.S. political culture still largely supported it. But as King said so well in that speech: “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
Alas, King’s trepidation was realized as political leaders including President Lyndon B. Johnson, major media outlets, union officials and even previously sympathetic white people distanced themselves from King’s righteous attack against America’s self-destructive war against the imaginary communist boogeyman.
A year later, King was gunned down, his anti-Vietnam War opposition largely relegated to a footnote in his magnificent life’s journey. But it should not be as America still fails to heed his warning that the wars of this century in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Ukraine and Gaza are continuing our inexorable road to spiritual death.
— Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn
In response to the article “No showers, sparse food at migrant ‘landing zone’” (Jan. 11), I felt sympathy for the migrants. As we hope to better provide the migrants humanitarian aid and possible integration in the United States, we are reminded of the larger issues. It may be nice to fundamentally treat the migrants from Latin America with kindness and proper acceptance, yet we should also hope the conditions in their original countries improve in the first place. Perhaps a stronger border, albeit more ethical behavior from the law enforcement, can act as an incentive to those countries to get their acts together.
I hope politicians one day soon can speak and act about this issue with maturity and the proper balance, more so than current. When decent immigration legislation hopefully gets passed in the near future, we can properly manifest from Scripture the parable of the vineyard, which I think fits the American attitude perfectly — that newer waves of immigrants are as much of the country as previous waves of immigrants.
— Benjamin Amenta, Flossmoor
In their op-ed extolling all the “benefits” of moving to Illinois (“The naysayers are wrong. Illinois is the place to be for businesses.,” Jan. 10), John Atkinson and Dan Seals list a host of disparate companies moving to Illinois but fail to note how much in taxpayer-financed bribes were required to land them here.
Half the picture again from the “movers and shakers” of a state; businesses and people are leaving in droves.
Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.
— Jim FitzGerald, Chicago
Regarding the recent op-ed about Illinois naysayers being out of step with reality, somehow, the writers forget one very important item on their checklist: taxes.
While I agree we have unmatched transportation, skilled labor and educated workers, these companies would go elsewhere if it weren’t for the massive tax breaks. A great new example is the battery plant in Manteno: The company is getting $330 million in tax breaks and incentives. This massive amount of cash is like a carrot in front of a donkey. Companies just can’t look away.
It doesn’t stop there.
Even local government in a desperate move may cap property taxes for projects at numbers that rob communities of needed operational funds.
Yet many businesses are pulling out like Caterpillar, Citadel, Boeing and Tyson Foods.
Hopefully, these new businesses survive and keep their new employees working, but how long can this state worry about only new businesses and not help keep those that called Illinois home way before the tax incentive plan?
— Paul Marshalek, Bolingbrook
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