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Dear Beloved Tanenbaum Community,
As we celebrate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I pause to wonder if this past year has brought us closer to the beloved community that he, and others before him, envisioned. Not a utopian society devoid of conflicts, but rather one that leans into the spirit of friendship and goodwill, believing that love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred.
To me, cultivating a beloved community works in alignment with Tanenbaum’s larger mission of promoting justice and building respect for difference, including religious difference. And I have to ask myself if it would even be possible to imagine a world where differences are respected if it were not for the groundwork Dr. King laid only 60-years ago when he marched on Washington and shared his dream for our future.
Today, I ask you, my beloved Tanenbaum community, to think about the actionable steps you can take to cultivate your community through everyday practices. What’s required of each of us in order to build respect within and across communities? How do we create a society where respect is prevalent, and shows up in our daily conversations and interactions? As you sit with these questions today, please take a moment to check out our resources below, as they might help you to practice what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached, and remember…
“Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.”
– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
LISTEN
- Be Outraged by Injustice: A hopeful message calling for unity and action in the face of injustice.
- Courageous Conversations: A discussion with former White Supremacist, Arno Michaelis and former Muslim Supremacist, Mubin Shaikh about explicit bias.
ACT
- Contribute to our 3,000 Conversations for Building Respect Series: 3,000 Conversations is an opportunity for individuals to organically and purposefully engage with issues centered around promoting justice and building respect within and across our communities.
- 6 Films to Stream in Honor of Martin Luther King Jr. NBC News
WATCH
- Privilege, Race & Religion in the U.S. Pt. 1: A conversation with Dr. Khyati Y. Joshi
- Privilege, Race & Religion in the U.S. Pt. 2: A conversation with Robert P. Jones, Ph.D.
READ
- Martin Luther King Jr.: Faith and Nonviolent Protest: A fact sheet sharing the many ways King put his nonviolence values into action, the obstacles he encountered, and his inspiring resolve.
- Shared Visions: A resource showing how world religions view everyday topics in complementary ways, including education, forgiveness, and charity.
In commemoration and hope,
Rev. Mark Fowler
CEO, Tanenbaum