Martin Luther King Day
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”― Martin Luther King Jr.
UNITED SIKHS wishes you a peaceful Martin Luther King day. We hope that you can take time today to reflect on the life and words of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.
The quote above was written from a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. Dr. King was responding to fellow religious clergymen who had published a letter stating that the civil rights actions for which Dr. King was incarcerated were “unwise and untimely” and that his presence in Birmingham made him and his supporters, “outsiders coming in” to “create unrest in the community.” The clergymen urged Dr. King to cease the civil disobedience and allow the legal system to deal with the racial inequities in Birmingham.
Dr. King explained why peacefully demanding equality could never be unwise or untimely. He also explained that people marching peaceably for civil rights could never be “outsiders” because of the “interrelatedness of all communities and states.” This interrelatedness meant that the injustice in Birmingham impacted everyone. He could not “sit idly by” and not be concerned with the racism in Birmingham.
In India, approximately a quarter of a billion people are peacefully protesting against laws that could have devastating consequences for India’s farmers. The laws have not yet been implemented and the farmers and their supporters are urging the government to allow them to have a say in these laws before they are enacted. The government has not responded and has allowed the police force to engage in violence to suppress the protests. As a result, hundreds of farmers have been injured by the police. UNITED SIKHS has been standing with the protestors, providing medical attention, food, warm clothing, and counselling for the farmers.
UNITED SIKHS stands in solidarity to advance the economic, social and spiritual empowerment of minorities and other marginalized groups and individuals in need, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social status, age or ability. We recognize the human race as one.
