Public Employee Press

Dr. King’s legacy of change

By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

More than 300 members and their families honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 14 at DC 37’s annual King Day celebration and candlelight memorial.

“This is always a special event for me because I can remember what America was like before Dr. King,” said Political Action Committee Chair Lenny Allen, “and I’ll tell you — America is a much better place because of his work.”

The event began with a moment of silence for the earthquake victims of Haiti and featured as guest speakers state Senate Majority Leader John Sampson of Brooklyn and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. The event, organized by the union’s Political Action and Legislation Dept., also included a moving tribute to the late Eren Isbilir. The widely loved PAL staffer ran the DC 37 phone banks until October, when he lost his battle with cancer.

At age 26, King led the now-famous year-long bus boycott that ended racial segregation on public transportation in Montgomery, Ala., in 1956 and galvanized the civil rights movement for African Americans and minorities.

Jobs and justice

Dr. King’s devotion to equality, social justice and nonviolent direct action changed the course of history, and in 1964 he became one of the youngest ever honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. His audacity and vision for what could be led him to “cash a check… for the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” for all Americans.

Dr. King is especially revered throughout DC 37’s national union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, since he was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis as he built support for striking AFSCME sanitation workers.

“Dr. King’s legacy is summed up in equality for all,” Sampson said. “We can measure a person by what they do for others. Now is the time to renew Dr. King’s call for service by helping the people of Haiti.”

Sampson said the state Legislature’s “priorities are jobs, education and making New York affordable for New Yorkers,” and thanked Executive Director Lillian Roberts and DC 37 for supporting those goals.

The far-reaching effect of Dr. King’s legacy is apparent in what Americans of all backgrounds have been able to attain and achieve since his death. Roberts said, “We have come a long way. I know I would not be able to stand before you as head of this great union without the achievements of Martin Luther King. He was not afraid to stand up for what he believed in and he gave us the confidence to be unafraid to speak up, too.”

“Dr. King, Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela and President Barack Obama are extraordinary visionaries who share a view of what others cannot see,” de Blasio said, “the possibility of change.”