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Commemorating The Legacy of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This year, as we honor the legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice asks all Americans to reflect on the meaning of Dr. King’s vision of the “beloved community” within the struggle for reproductive justice. 

The beloved community Dr. King envisioned is a community of love and justice, free of racism, poverty and militarism; a community in which "we are tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality."  There would be no place, in this beloved community, for the oppression of women and children, those who are poor, young and people of color.

Today, many forms of injustice continue to undermine this beloved community, and our vision of full reproductive justice. Economic instability, government inaction, and legal restrictions threaten the ability of women to access reproductive health services and the ability of people to care for their families.

As we remember Dr. King, and on this day of service, Americans from all walks of life are asked to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems.

We at the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice ask Americans to take a bold step toward the “beloved community.” We ask you to connect traditional justice concerns about poverty, inequality, oppression, and lack of opportunity to reproductive justice – to create a community that positively supports a full range of reproductive health services as central to creating strong families and a strong nation.

For your reflection on this day, below are links to two essays written by clergy members of RCRC.

Justice: An Ever-flowing Stream
by Rev. Dr. Alethea Smith-Withers, RCRC Board Member

Where Do We Go From Here: Reflections on Whiteness and Reproductive Justice for MLK Day
by Darcy Baxter, Unitarian Universalist ministerial candidate