Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and social rights activist in the United States in the 1950s and '60s. He was a leader of the American civil rights movement. He organized a number of peaceful protests as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, including the march on Washington in 1963 and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Did you know that King earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania? He continued to pursue higher education all the way into earning a doctorate in Systematic Theology. He was raised in an activist family and wanted to fulfill the country’s dream of freedom and equality for all, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Martin Luther King, Jr fought for equality and social justice; but what is social justice?
Social justice by definition is the relation of balance between individual and society that is measured by the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and personal liberties within a society. As a school community, we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr through a prayer service or mass that encourages discussion about love for all and social justice. Celebrating MLK teaches Corpus Christi students, families, and our greater community how we can promote a lot of social justice in young minds. For example, a young mind doesn't see color or race. The only reason for a little kid or a young adult to care about race is because they were taught to see or judge someone by the color of their skin. Racism is not natural to someone's mind set, it is created by an influence, and we need to get rid of that influence.
As a Catholic Community, we have seven social teachings that we grow and develop to live by our faith principles. If you had no idea what exactly the seven are; here is a list we put together for you…
- The “life and dignity of a human person” is the foundation of moral vision for society.
- The “call to family, community, and participation” affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community.
- The “rights and responsibilities” teaches that human dignity can be protected and responsibilities are met.
- The “option for the poor and vulnerable” instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.
- The “dignity of work and rights of workers” focuses on the economy serving the people and not the other way around.
- “Solidarity” reminds us that we are one human family regardless of race, nationality, economic, social, and ideological differences.
- And lastly, to “care for God’s creation” teaches us to show respect for the Creator through stewardship.
Our very own Mrs. Crudo shared, “the point of activism is to change hearts and minds towards love and acceptance for all.” This quote means that the point of social justice is to help people understand that we are all equal and shouldn’t be treated otherwise; it is to change people’s views so they can focus on seeing love in all things. Why should someone's life be pre-determined because of their skin color? We can’t control how we look or the skin color God blessed us with, but we can control our perspectives. That is why social justice is important because we shouldn’t be judging someone by how they look but on how they act.
We would like to end this post with a quote from St. Pope John Paul II… “Let us remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, and look forward to the future with confidence”. Enjoy the beautiful weekend!