TODAY: Senator Reverend Warnock joined MSNBC’s Morning Joeearlier this morning to reflect on the meaning of Dr. King’s legacy and how Dr. King’s commitment to justice inspires his work as a senator
Senator Reverend Warnock on Morning Joe: “What I hear on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Martin Luther King Jr. saying to all of us that we need leaders who are not, he said, in love with money, but in love with justice; not in love with publicity, but in love with humanity; leaders who can subject their own ego to the pressing issues of the cause of freedom. The United States Senate, the United States Congress, could benefit from hearing that message right now—centering the people rather than the politicians” – WATCH VIDEO CLIPS HERE AND HERE
ALSO: Ahead of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Senator Reverend Warnock — the Senior Pastor at Dr. King’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta — delivered a message of hope and reiterated the urgent need to complete Dr. King’s unfinished business to create a Beloved Community – WATCH FULL VIDEO TRIBUTE HERE
ICYMI: On Sunday, Senator Reverend Warnock discussed Dr. King’s enduring legacy on ABC’s This Week: “[W]hat it shows is that any one of us, if we’re deeply committed, if we’re driven by the North Star of our moral compass, if we center the concerns of other people rather than just ourselves, we can have an impact in a powerful way” – WATCH VIDEO CLIP HERE
Washington D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) honored the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday by sharing a message of hope for Georgians and Americans, and reflecting on the promise of Dr. King’s vision for a “beloved community.” On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Senator Warnock reflected on how Dr. King’s commitment to justice, and the urgency of completing Dr. King’s unfinished business, inspires his work as a senator.
“There’s no question I live in a world very different from what my parents experienced, as a result of Dr. King’s work. I was born in 1969, one year after Dr. King’s death. I never drank from a colored water fountain. I never sat on the back of a bus as my dad did, who was a World War II veteran, [and was] asked to give up his seat to a white teenager while wearing his soldier’s uniform. So there’s no question about the impact of Dr. King’s ministry and his work on American life—and yet, as Martin [Luther King] III said earlier, we still have a lot of work to do, and I’m honored to do that work every single day—both as a pastor, and now in the United States Senate,” Senator Warnock said when reflecting on the meaning of Dr. King’s legacy today.
Senator Warnock continued: “What Dr. King taught us is that leadership is not about an office; it’s about an orientation. And I’ve been trying to do this work long before I came to the United States Senate, as you pointed out. I was arrested, I guess, 20 years ago or so, in the wake of the killing of Amadou Diallo, an African immigrant who was shot and killed while standing on his own porch. Five years ago I was arrested in the United States Capitol fighting for health care, and challenging the fact that in the Farm Bill, they were going to take away important benefits for nutritional and food security. Well, five years later, I sit in the Senate, I’m on the Agriculture committee—so I get to help write the Farm Bill. And what I hear on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Martin Luther King Jr. saying to all of us that we need leaders who are not, he said, in love with money, but in love with justice; not in love with publicity, but in love with humanity; leaders who can subject their own ego to the pressing issues of the cause of freedom. The United States Senate, the United States Congress, could benefit from hearing that message right now—centering the people rather than the politicians.”
[Watch video clips of Senator Warnock’s interview on Morning Joe HERE and HERE.]
Senator Reverend Warnock also spoke about Dr. King’s enduring legacy in an exclusive interview with ABC’s This Week on Sunday, and released a video message of hope to Georgians in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
The video can be viewed HERE and a transcript of the message can be read below:
“My beloved: as we remember and celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., let us recommit ourselves this day to continuing his life’s work and his mission.
“At his core, Dr. King, who led the Ebenezer Baptist Church where I continue to serve, was always guided by his faith. And he focused his faith on actualizing his vision to build what he called the Beloved Community. I liked the way in which Dr. King’s faith was not a weapon to destroy people but a bridge to bring us together. He understood that the Beloved Community embraces all of us, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic level.
“And so — as a voice for Georgia in the United States Senate, while serving in the Ebenezer pulpit — I am honored to advance this noble vision, bringing us one step closer to fulfilling Dr. King’s dream and what I believe to be America’s true destiny.
“From health care to housing, to defending the dignity of work and critical civil liberties, to creating good paying jobs to combating the existential threat of climate change, to protecting the sacred right to vote for every eligible citizen, we’re still working on Dr. King’s unfinished business.
“For years I’ve been inspired by Dr. King’s courage, and his insight that ‘we are tied in a single garment of destiny, caught up in an inescapable network of mutuality. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.’
“And so, with every vote and decision I make in the United States Senate, I try my best to reflect that simple truth – we are in this together.
“Dr. King’s wisdom applies whether we are talking about justice and striving for equity or investing in a better community and strengthening economic opportunity for us all. In the end, it’s all about dignity.
“So, as I close, let me be clear, we can in this defining moment, indeed, we must, all work to knit our garment of destiny together.
“Many will gather this day to remember Dr. King. But always keep this in mind: you cannot remember Dr. King and dismember his social legacy at the same time. You cannot remember Dr. King while also discriminating against the children of God. You have to stand up. Stand up for the children of God, stand up for the planet, stand up to those who would obstruct voting rights.
“Today, and every day, we must remember and build on the legacy of Georgia’s greatest son and arguably, I think, the greatest American: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“So, thank you so much. It’s great to be with you in this fight. Our future is bright together. Our best days are not behind us – they are ahead of us.
“So, keep the faith and keep looking up.”
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