Leominster Champion: Remembering Dr. King’s legacy 50 years later

Originally published at: http://www.leominsterchamp.com/articles/remembering-dr-kings-legacy-50-years-later/

In his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

I have been reflecting a great deal on the work and legacy of Dr. King, with the 50th anniversary of his assassination. I was not alive during his lifetime, but his passion and his commitment to social justice is universal and inspired many of my mentors. His work, his writings, and above all, his calls to action, continue to move us today.

I am writing this column in the midst of a federal government shutdown when politics seems to get more polarized every week, and just about everyone seems to be frustrated by government. Growing up in a working-class family, that never really felt the government was accessible to them or worked for them, motivated me to get involved in politics and public service.

I joke with our Congressman, Jim McGovern, nearly every time that I’ve seen him this past year, over not being envious of his job. I am lucky because in Massachusetts state politics almost every issue we work on, every bill we pass, is done with bipartisan support.

Yet, we are not immune to these polarizing attacks from the outside. For the second time in my first year in elected office, a dark money group has sent misleading and often just plain false mailers across the city. But I welcome these opportunities to have those hard conversations and talk about real problems and real solutions.

In Dr. King’s 1963 Strength to Love sermons, he said: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” I hope that in these tough times we can all gather together and have these difficult conversations. I hope to have more community forums like the ones I hosted this summer, and I would love to hear your ideas on how to create more community spaces to share experiences, concerns, and solutions at the state, local, and federal level.

We should be proud of the example Massachusetts sets for the rest of the nation. We advance thinking laws, to protect and move our communities forward. I am looking forward to the rest of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session where we’ll be taking up issues around health care access and affordability, the opioid crisis, and protecting working families, just to name a few.

​Thank you for taking the time to read this month’s column. If you have any questions or need to get in touch with me and my office, email me at Natalie. Higgins@mahouse.gov or call (978) 227-5278. Also please drop into my open office hours Monday at the Leominster Public Library from 5:30-7 p.m. and Friday at the Leominster High School from 7-8 a.m.