Every year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day gives us the chance to honor the life and legacy of a remarkable leader.
Dr. King was a visionary who held up a mirror to our country and showed us our flaws and our potential. Many Americans were not ready for the truth that he preached, and it cost King dearly. He was thrown in jail for organizing nonviolent protests in Birmingham, and he was hit with a rock while marching for housing integration in Chicago. His Montgomery house was bombed while his wife and seven-week-old daughter were inside, and the night after his Mountaintop speech in Memphis, he was tragically assassinated.
Throughout his career, countless people advised him to take fewer risks, to protect himself. Yet with every threat, he redoubled his efforts in the fight for civil rights. He never backed down or eased up because, in his words, “The time is always right to do what is right."
I first learned that lesson from my father and from his law partners Julius Chambers and James Ferguson. They founded North Carolina’s first integrated law firm in Charlotte in the mid-1960s. Their firm won path-breaking victories in our nation’s legal battle against discrimination and for equality. They didn’t back down from doing what was right, not even when someone firebombed their office in 1971. They are my heroes, and they taught me that some things are worth fighting for, no matter how tough it is.
Here in North Carolina, we surely have tough work ahead of us. Delivering on North Carolina’s promise is my north star, but we have work to do. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. King wrote, “Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability.” There is nothing inevitable about progress; it takes our tireless effort.
Talking about housing and homeownership, Dr. King said in 1966, “Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children.” Regrettably, in North Carolina, these doors have not always opened. Three-fourths of white families own their home, compared to less than half of Black families.
A home is more than just a roof over your head – it is also a community anchor and a way to build generational wealth. We must increase homeownership opportunities and expand housing options across the state, so that our homes are a source of stability, not stress.
We must also address our healthcare system. As Dr. King said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.” Whether it is mortality rates of Black mothers, rates of insurance coverage, or even life expectancy, there are too many ways that our healthcare system is not working for everyone. Even as we celebrate Medicaid expansion, we must continue to make healthcare more affordable, insurance more accessible, and medical debt less burdensome.
In addition, we must ensure that North Carolina’s economy keeps growing and that every North Carolinian can benefit from that growth. The night before he died, Dr. King was in Memphis supporting workers’ right to fair wages. Even today, we must make sure that hard work pays by raising the minimum wage. We have not increased it in 16 years! We also need to cut taxes for working people to put more money into their pockets. We need more good paying jobs in every corner of the state, from our small towns to our big cities. And we must support the small business owners who are powering our economy.
The challenges we face are many, but we can meet this moment by heeding Dr. King’s words: “Let us rise up with a greater readiness and determination.”
When we do, we will build a better and brighter future together – one rooted in our shared values of freedom, justice, and opportunity for every person.