Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina

This time in January, is a time of celebration, a time of recognition and a time of reflection. We celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. A man who changed the world while he was alive and his words and actions have helped change the world since his death.

We don’t have to necessarily be religious to appreciate Dr. King’s teachings. Now there is no question that his thoughts and words are grounded in his faith. One of the things that I have learned through hearing and reading Dr. King’s words is an ongoing message of encouragement. He was able to take people that felt hopeless and give them hope. He was not a man of violence but he was willing to stand firm on his beliefs of what was just and what was fair and what was equal, and then suffer the consequences of that action.

I recently visited the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis where Dr. King was assassinated. It was a surreal experience for me. The hotel has been made into a shrine for him but also for others who were willing to stand up for civil rights and for fairness. I stood in a replica of the bus where Rosa Parks refused to move. I saw pictures and signs of people who had been made to feel less than equal. Signs that pointed one color of skin to one bathroom and another color of skin to a different bathroom. Signs that allowed one color to sit in the main viewing area of a movie theatre and a sign that said if your skin was a certain color, then you must go up into the balcony away from others.

It gave me perspective and it continues to give me empathy and understanding.

It has been over 40 years since Dr. Martin Luther King was killed in Memphis. And, as I prepared this piece, I asked myself two questions: What has not changed and what has changed since Dr. King’s death?

First, what has not changed:

• Our public education system in poor communities in South Carolina still ranks near the bottom in the United States. It ranks near the bottom in qualified and competent teachers, in student performance and―first and foremost―in funds available to support those teachers and students. Our future generation of young people will have significant limitations unless we make education a priority in our state, and not just in the wealthy communities, but all communities. In the lawsuit waged between the Corridor of Shame Counties and the State of South Carolina, a small bit of progress was made but overall I was ashamed of our state’s response. Do you mean to tell me that you can be satisfied that we are offering our young people in poor counties a minimally adequate education. All this occurring in buildings that were built over 100 years ago without proper heat, plumbing or other basic necessities. I believe that very little progress has been made in our public educational system in poor communities in the last 40 years.

• Health care. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am with the state of health care, health access and health coverage in this country. It is a colossal problem that we continue to ignore and our leaders continue to base their decisions on the influence of big insurance companies and drug companies. Every single person in this country should be entitled to health care and not have to put themselves or their families at risk because of it. We must have a system in place that emphasizes prevention, easy access to providers and ongoing treatment and coverage regardless of the age or financial position a person finds themselves in.

• Jobs. There is such a disparity in jobs between the haves and the have nots that it is almost comical. We continue to provide minimal opportunities for education and therefore hamstring our poorer populations to do basic jobs that do not afford them growth or to realistically take care of their families. We must embrace and push job training and create job opportunities for the poor. If not, we are contributing to a systemic problem that fosters dependency on government with very few options otherwise. We say we have a free market society but it is not a free market for those that don’t have the education or resources to truly participate. There is a serious imbalance that needs to be addressed.

To my second question, What has changed:

I would say that we have more people invested than ever before. We had a national movement that elected Barack Obama President. We have more people volunteering in our nonprofit sector than ever before. We have after school tutoring programs, job training programs, nursing programs in rural areas, fatherhood programs, access to justice initiatives and leadership development programs for our youth.

I have seen progress. Is it world-changing progress? No, but it is progress.

We, living and working in communities, have the same opportunities to make a difference or invest in change that Dr. Martin Luther King had more than 40 years ago. We see the injustices in education, health care and jobs. We, in the private sector, can help and are helping.

South Carolina has its problems but so does every other state in our country. If South Carolina is going to succeed, then every one of its citizens must have an opportunity to succeed. If South Carolina is going to improve then racial divides must be broken and our state must look at each other as fellow South Carolinians with common purpose and pride.

If Dr. King were alive today, I think he would be disappointed in a lot of things. I also believe he would be proud of a lot of things. He would be proud of our spirit. He would be proud of our willingness to find new ways to help others and he would be proud that we, as private citizens, are willing and able to take ownership in the needed changes in our state and communities and help lead that charge.

So, I challenge each of you today to not live in a world that is secure and privileged but live in a world that is sensitive and empathetic. Don’t just watch as things occur but participate. Don’t just care but act. Don’t just breathe life but live life. The outcome may seem simple but it could be monumental. Wouldn’t it be wonderful that after all is said and done, we could look at our fellow citizens and friends; black, white, Christian or non-Christian, democrat or republican, male or female, rich or poor and we can say, “Job well done, my neighbor and friend, job well done.”

God bless you all.

Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina