Revolutionary work for revolutionary times!
In his chapter “The World House,” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “Some years ago a famous novelist died. Among his papers was found a list of suggested plots for future stories, the most prominently underscored being this one: ‘A widely separated family inherits a house in which they have to live together.’ This is the great new problem of mankind. We have inherited a large house, a great ‘world house’ in which we have to live together...a family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace.”
Today we honor the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through celebration, reflection, and service. We recognize how far we still need to go to actualize his vision of racial equality and equity. We uplift his exemplary model of peace leadership, and use it as inspiration to step into our own responsibility to practice the personal, interpersonal, community, and global peace work necessary to nourish, heal, and progress our “World House.”
Dr. King spoke to the histories of people protecting the status quo and failing to be awake through social change. Today in the United States and around the world we bear witness to the impacts of such violent armor and slumber – deep polarization, distrust, oppression, and burgeoning “otherizing.” This moment in time points to the loud counter cry for a moral uprising and path grounded in choosing peace over and over again. How do we do this? What does it mean to choose peace in the face of such entrenched violence?
Choosing peace is a complex, ongoing practice. Choosing peace is listening deeply to ourselves and others. Choosing peace is becoming still and centered so we respond to adversity with courage and love. Pioneers of peace leadership Dr. Whitney McIntyre Miller and Zachary Green share, “the empathy to discover ‘the other’ in and as one’s self involves an embrace of our common humanity and sets as the standard our individual and collective responsibility to one another.” Choosing peace is listening to the “other” with compassion and shared humanity to open pathways to radical accountability, reconciliation, and healing.
Dr. King’s direction rings loud and true today, “our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change. The large house in which we live demands that we transform this world-wide neighborhood into a world-wide brotherhood.” We see examples of this from our global community - of individuals and communities who have turned the “other” into a brother and sister, who have embodied commitment to transformation. We gain inspiration in our accompaniment and uplift of everyday peacebuilders in their journeys to reimagine what’s possible and to enact such visions around the world.
To break down social hierarchies, to liberate from oppression, and to end violence in all forms, we commit to honoring the “World House.” Today, on a day that honors the life and leadership of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. we pledge our commitment to choosing peace to ensure equity, justice, and abundance for all citizens of the world. We invite you to join us.
This revolutionary work isn’t for a select few who call themselves peacebuilders. This work is for all of us. We are all peacebuilders.