January 13th is Korean American Day and next Monday we honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Both holidays provide us with the opportunity to both honors the promise of belonging and honestly reflect on the legacy of exclusion in the U.S.
Korean American Day highlights the contributions of Korean Americans, who’ve played a consequential role in the U.S. since their arrival on January 13, 1903. Korean Americans have positively impacted our country and its vital to recognize the significance of this communities perspective. Spend the day exploring the multifaceted work of Korean American artists who have inspired generations. Sun Yung Shin is a poet, writer, and educator who was born in Seoul and raised in Chicago and Dabin Han is an illustrator and comic artist whose work details her personal experience as a Korean American. Consider joining the Korea Economic Institute of America for their YouTube virtual discussion with Dr. Abraham Kim and Mr. Wonseok Song on the evolution of the Korean American community.
Dr. Martin King Jr’s footprint on our planet is infinite. Our global community has been inspired to not only follow his teachings but to continue to prioritize his deepest values. In his famous Christmas Sermon of 1967, he reminded us that all life is interconnected:
“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Let us celebrate King’s tremendous legacy with more than mere platitudes. We need to directly and consistently affirm the behaviors that create the changes he truly believed in.