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As we head into the national holiday weekend honoring the memory and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we are also mindful of the enormous sacrifices and contributions of his wife, Coretta Scott King, his partner in life and in leadership, and of the entire King family. Their example of tireless commitment to justice for all — including economic justice and health care justice — has never been more important nor more timely than it is right now. As we continue to be guided by his wisdom and unyielding commitment to truth and justice in all of its forms, we celebrate Dr. King’s life and legacy and recommit ourselves to becoming living examples of his dream of faith in action and deep love of humanity.

The King Holiday is also a national call to service. As dark and hopeless as our times may seem right now, we must remember the inherent beauty, resilience and joy in being of service to one another and that hope remains where it has always been — between faith and love. Whether we choose service to the most vulnerable among us with our time and treasure or serving the collective good by speaking truth to power, we are laying the foundation for Dr. King’s glorious vision of a Beloved Community that centers care, compassion and mutual thriving.

Today and every day in the fight to Save Our Health Care, we ground ourselves in Dr. King’s words on health: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death.” That is why Democrats will never stop fighting to expand access to quality affordable health care and to save lives. Americans across party lines reject the inhumanity of Trump and Republicans ripping away health care from millions of the most vulnerable Americans and making health care unaffordable for millions more — solely to give more tax breaks to big corporations and their ultra-wealthy MAGA donors.

Dr. King also reminded us that, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” His example reminds us that we cannot hope for the arc to bend toward justice on its own. It doesn’t just happen — we are the ones who must create the necessary tension and momentum to bend that moral arc. And as Dr. King marched, organized, strategized and disrupted to expose and defeat injustice then, that is our calling too now.

More than ever, I know that the beauty of America is in the mix. America’s diversity strengthens us and makes America more American. We must never allow anyone to degrade and belie that truth unchallenged. As I always say to my colleagues in the House: our diversity is our strength — and our unity is our power!

Even when times seemed their darkest, Dr. King never gave up hope for a better future and the role that each of us can play in bringing it into fruition. Working together and remaining rooted and compassionate in times of chaos and cruelty is how we get closer to the dreams and future that we hope for and deserve. So know your power in all of this!