Judy Seidenstein, chief diversity officer for the Duke University School of Medicine, alerts faculty, staff and students to events that honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:
Over the next few days, people across the nation will engage in numerous celebrations to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – a visionary leader of the civil rights movement who transformed the social justice landscape through his commitment to service, community and nonviolence.
As members of the Duke School of Medicine community, I invite you to join your peers and colleagues and take part in the activities listed on the enclosed flyer and at www.mlk.duke.edu to celebrate the memory of Dr. King.
In a 1966 speech that Dr. King gave to the Second National Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights in Chicago, he said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” Addressing health disparities, improving community health, and leading efforts to eliminate health inequalities are essential to Duke Medicine’s mission and align with Dr. King’s vision. These annual celebratory events serve as important reminders that we can all take action to move this vision forward.
“The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday is a day of interracial and intercultural cooperation and sharing. No other day of the year brings so many peoples from different cultural backgrounds together in such a vibrant spirit of brother and sisterhood. Whether you are African-American, Hispanic or Native American, whether you are Caucasian or Asian-American, you are part of the great dream Martin Luther King, Jr. had for America. This is not a black holiday; it is a peoples' holiday. And it is the young people of all races and religions who hold the keys to the fulfillment of his dream.” -- Coretta Scott King