Happy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

“Let us remember those who have died for justice, for they have given us life.” Cesar Chavez

In the 44 years since the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we as a country have come a long way; however, the fight and struggle for justice and equality are far from over.  While Dr. King was most outwardly an advocate for the African-American community during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, his voice and his message resonate throughout the country as a whole.  All people who have been oppressed or discriminated against or victimized can take Dr. King’s words as a voice of inspiration.  We are all in the struggle for equality together and we must all work together to ensure that everyone is free.

As January 16, 2012 marked the 26^th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Day, with events going on across the country ranging for parades and rallies as far as an “Occupy the Dream” movement, the Farmworker Association of Florida made sure to be a part of the remembrance.  A cross-cultural group of men, women, and children from the African-American, Hispanic, and Haitian communities were all brought together as one, to remember our family, friends, and heroes that have allowed us all to be where we are today.  In the farmworker communities across Florida, we remember the men and women who dedicated their life to the fields, greenhouses, and nurseries, despite fear and victimization.  As Martin Luther King Day comes to a close once again, we must all remember that we will all overcome the injustices of our world.

“Believe in yourself and believe that you are somebody. As I said to a group last night, nobody else can do this for us, no document can do this for us. No Lincolnian emancipation proclamation can do this for us, no Kennsioan or Johnsonian civil rights bill can do this for us. If the Negro is to be free he must move down into his inner resources of his own soul and sign with a pen and ink of self-asserted manhood his own emancipation proclamation… Be proud of our heritage. As somebody said earlier tonight, we don't have anything to be ashamed of. Somebody told a lie one day… They made everything black ugly and evil… something degrading and low and sinister… But I want to get the language right tonight.  I want to get the language so right that everybody here will cry out, ‘Yes I am black. I'm proud of it. I am black and beautiful.’”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.