Monday, January 16th marked the 25th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr. Day- a day on which we celebrate the accomplishments and legacy of a truly iconic American who fought for social justice and equality. Following quickly on its heals is the month of February, also knows as ‘Black History Month,’ which brings attention to the myriad contributions of black Americans to our country’s history. Both of these times provide us with the perfect opportunity to reflect on the state of all Americans in our society.

As we all remember too well, the creation of Martin Luther King Jr. day–20 years in the making–was itself no small accomplishment.  Days after the assassination of Dr. King in 1968, John Conyers introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to commemorate the life and accomplishments of a Great American. He reintroduced that bill to every successive Congress until it was finally enacted into law during the administration of President Ronald Reagan in November of 1983, by which time I was serving in the House and was able to cast my vote in support of this vital legislation.

Back in 2004, I also had the tremendous honor of introducing Coretta Scott King at an event hosted by the Portland NAACP.  For all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding politics in Washington, it is seldom that one actually does have the opportunity to be in the presence of true greatness.  That dinner was such an opportunity, and I am grateful for having had the privilege of sharing a stage with Mrs. King in my home state. This year, both Bangor and Portland held commemorative events on January 16^th to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day; Portland’s theme was “Conscience of a Nation” and Bangor’s was “Keeping the Dream Alive.”   

As both a man and a pillar of American history, Dr. King was multi-dimensional. We might speak of him as the father of the modern civil rights movement.  We might speak of him as an innovator of non-violent protest as a means of achieving social justice. We might speak of him as a scholar, or a man of faith. Collectively, his speeches and writings continue to serve as an American call to conscience, and on a day when we remember his life, it is fitting that we take a moment to consider the unparalleled value of his moral legacy – as a means of looking not only at the past, but also our present. 

While much has changed since Dr. King’s time, many of the challenges he sought to address persist.  Throughout his continuing quest for social justice, Dr. King rightly identified and fought poverty as a corrosive stain on the fabric of society.  Children of all races who were born into poverty’s grip invariably faced greater – and too often insurmountable – challenges in ever realizing America’s promise.   

More broadly, let us also embrace a national conscience with regard to the care and treatment of the most vulnerable in our society.  Are we, as Dr. King lamented in accepting the Nobel Prize in 1968, “shutting the poor out of our minds and driving them from the mainstream of our societies because we have allowed them to become invisible”?  This question is equally pertinent today, for, as Dr. King also noted, “the time is always right to do what is right.”

Indeed, policies we enact and decisions we reach, by compromise and never caprice, will have a lasting impact on generations to come. In the deliberative body that is the United States Senate, there must always be a voice to temper the passions of the moment and counsel the right solution, not the expedient one.  This is the expectation of the people who elected me to serve them in Washington. But Dr. King’s call to conscience applies not only to politicians, but to every man and woman in equal measure. 

Finally, we also celebrate Dr. King’s life during the year in which we have lost another towering figure in the struggle for civil rights and human dignity – Rosa Parks.  More than words alone, the simple yet courageous act of defiance Rosa Parks took on a Montgomery bus remains a powerful reminder of how a soft-spoken seamstress from Alabama can shape history.  In another age, such as our own, the catalyst for change could be a mill worker from Maine or an insurance policy-writer from Portand.  “Anyone can be great,” Dr. King presciently observed, “because anyone can serve.”