Content starts here
CLOSE ×

Search

AARP AARP States Missouri

Celebrating the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

AARP_03BHM_NoIinBlack_Social_FB[1].jpg

Celebrating the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
On MLK Day, we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We value the long and sacrificial hard work of him and other Civil Rights Leaders who labored for the equal rights of Black US citizens. Without their important work, 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voter Rights Act may not exist today.

I Have A Dream
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered this iconic speech on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D. C. during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Click HERE to read his famous words

MLK Day Message from JoAnn Jenkins, CEO of AARP

570x800-joann-jenkins-portrait.imgcache.rev.web.357.500.jpg

Having grown up in southern Alabama, I am a product of the civil rights movement. I know firsthand what others sacrificed and experienced in order that I might have the opportunity to serve today as the CEO of a membership organization 38 million strong. I am where I am today because of those who sacrificed to make sure I had the opportunity and the freedom to succeed and make the most of my God-given talents.

We are all indebted to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for his courage, determination, perseverance and wisdom in leading the civil rights movement.

One of Dr. King’s favorite preachers was Henry Emerson Fosdick, the founding minister of Riverside Church in New York City. Dr. King called him “the greatest preacher of this century.” Dr. King admired him not just because he was an outspoken opponent of racism and injustice but also because he believed in the power of individuals to come together and create social change that makes life better for all people.

Fosdick wrote that “Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.” “Extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people” — it’s that conviction that drove Dr. King as he led the civil rights movement of the 1960s. And it’s that conviction that drove a generation of ordinary people to stand up, sit down, march on and make their voices heard as they demanded the simple freedoms and rights we are all entitled to under the Constitution.

Click HERE to read JoAnn Jenkins full article

About AARP Missouri
Contact information and more from your state office. Learn what we are doing to champion social change and help you live your best life.