He poured his entire being into making the world a better place for us all. Despite countless challenges, despite imprisonment, despite threats to himself and his family, despite the fact he knew it would cost him his life.
Hi Community,
Last Thursday would have been Dr. King’s 97th birthday. (Some of us have grandparents older than that, this is not ancient history.)
He poured his entire being into making the world a better place for us all. Despite countless challenges, despite imprisonment, despite threats to himself and his family, despite the fact he knew it would cost him his life.
His last book before his assasination was titled, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community. Where do we go from here?
The America of today resembles the same chaos of Dr King’s day. The few hoard incredible wealth while millions suffer in poverty. Racists terrorize and kill across the country with impunity. The same injustice that he campaigned against is alive and well.
Dr. King’s answer was the Poor People’s Campaign, a multi-racial, cross-country campaign for an economic bill of rights. He believed in “a radical redistribution of economic and political power.” It was his words I thought of when I led my Board colleagues in backing our state’s movement for reparations. We will only realize that vision when we take the systemic action necessary to fight poverty.
Of all his profound words, one quote comes to my mind more than any other. “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”
Today, let us honor Dr. King by recommitting ourselves, to choose community over chaos, to choose his vision of a system that works for all, regardless of economic background, religion, or race, to choose love over hatred. Through action, persistence, and unity, we will achieve our higher destiny, that “final victory over racism and poverty” that he dreamed of.
Thank you for honoring him,
— Monica Montgomery Steppe
Born and raised in San Diego, Monica Montgomery Steppe is an HBCU graduate, and an attorney by trade. Monica believes in her heart that neighborhoods and community members are vibrant and worthy of care and investment. To learn more about Monica and the work she's doing for District Four, click here.
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Paid for by: Montgomery Steppe for Supervisor 2026
FPPC ID # 1470155
3295 Meade Ave, #212, San Diego CA 92116 |
