For Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights and economic rights were inseparable. From the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom to the Chicago Freedom Movement, the Memphis sanitation strike, and the Poor People’s Campaign, King called us to confront poverty, unsafe work, housing discrimination, and unequal access to opportunity.
This year's Northwestern MLK Commemoration theme Economic Justice invites us toreflect on the unfinished work of this essential part of Dr. King's legacy, how it shows up in our lives today, and our collective responsibility to address is.