Honoring Dr. King: Expanding Our Views on Service

Published January 17, 2025

On January 15th, 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was born. He is remembered as a courageous and loving leader of the civil and human rights movement whose words and wisdom empowered masses globally at a time when polarization, discrimination, and oppression due to race, gender, class, and otherwise marginalized identities plagued the nation. 56 years following his death, we still grapple with injustices, inequities, and poor distribution of power as a country and global community.

The United States observes Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday each year on the third Monday in January. This day is intended to be a national day of service where individuals are to join together as a community, serving and supporting each other and our neighbors. As I step into this year of remembrance and commemoration of the late Martin Luther King Jr., I embrace a curious and ever-evolving understanding of what it means to be in service to ourselves and our communities. As a Black American man, Martin Luther King Jr. suffered several injustices-the ultimate being his 1968 assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN. Throughout his career, Dr. King made it his business and mission to center progress through non-violence toward a more loving, connected, and caring world. As a Black, queer person living on this land myself, Martin Luther King Jr. Day not only reminds me of King's teachings and strivings for peace but the several other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement who fought for a better present and future, including those who had differing opinions on how to get there. I admire how Dr. King was able to collaborate with others in our community who had different visions toward the same goal. I am also reminded that the dream for collective peace and liberation is worked towards with resistance to and rejection of the forces that are not in alignment with this dream. Dr. King's co-creation of protests, sit-ins, and various other civil rights organizing strategies leading to strides in the movement demonstrate this.

At a time where collective grief is immense, we are in need of visionaries with the passion to continue this work-as the work is far from done and it extends beyond January 15th. Being in service to our community can take many shapes. For some, it may look like utilizing privilege and capacity to eliminate barriers and create a more equitable world. For others, it might involve harnessing personal power to improve and build better realities for themselves and their community members. For many-particularly those who are historically marginalized-service to the community may look like centering service to self in order to continue showing up at all. As I write this, I hold in my heart those who have little to no access to the time or resources for service through self-care.

As we observe MLK Day this year, I invite you to join me in considering and embracing the many layers of service in our communities and doing what you can to create a more just world.

Happy birthday, and thank you, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.!

About the Author:

Mariah Emerson is a fourth-year naturopathic medical student and second-year public health student with a background in community care and organizing through social justice framework implementation, communications strategy, ancestral and energetic healing, and community curation. She served as the Social Justice Team Lead for the Student Council from 2022-2023 and has worked in the Office of DEI as Office Assistant since 2023.

A Call for Reflection

As we reflect on how we can strive for true justice and anti-racism, we call on you to remember that to truly fulfill our mission of transforming the health and well-being of the human community, we aim to heal not just the body but the spirit as well. These efforts can be challenging, difficult and filled with adversity, but they are rewarding as well. True allyship is never easy.

Opportunities for Engagement

King Center

San Diego

Annual MLK Parade

Hands on San Diego - Service Opportunities

Seattle

Regional Events for MLK Day 2025

Seattle MLK Coalition

United Way/Seattle Service Opportunities