When people contemplate Martin Luther King Jr.’s message to the world today, they recall the uplifting and inspired words of his most famous speeches, says Bishop William J. Barber II. But often lost in these reflections are the painful realities that the civil rights leader confronted in his own time, the horrific injustices he faced, and the difficulty of his work.
Those who want to honor King in the 21st century should refrain from “celebrating” him, Barber says. Instead, they should commit themselves to the work that remains unfinished nearly six decades after his death.
“When someone has been a prophetic voice, has challenged injustices, you don’t so much celebrate them as you recommit yourselves to the things that they stood for,” said Barber, a moral movement leader who is founder and director of Repairers of the Breach, which trains social justice leaders, and founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School. “You pick up the baton of the unfinished work, and you carry it the next mile.”
Barber, who is also a professor in the practice of public theology and public policy at the Divinity School, will discuss King’s legacy, and the unfinished struggle for a more just world, during Yale’s annual MLK Commemoration event on Jan. 27. The title of his talk is “More than a Sermon: Martin’s Last Message to Us Now.”
January 24, 2025