Director's Take

MLK Day of Service

01-14-2022

January is always the perfect time to take fresh stock of the year, wipe the slate clean, and gain perspective. It’s especially timely that it’s also the birth month of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Each year on the third Monday of January, our country observes Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a day of service to reflect on the work that still needs to be done for racial equity. MLK was a peaceful and powerful force in charging us with the moral responsibility of making the civil rights movement mean something when he made the nation take a look at how it treated its people of color. Thirty-five years later, we were forced to take yet a closer look. Even as I turned 50 in the spring of 2020, I learned new history and new perspective about the current lives of Black Americans.

In the last two years, I’ve been fortunate to cultivate relationships with Black entrepreneurs who know that the time is now to help lead the way to more equitable opportunities for wealth creation, through new Black business incubators and associations, a Black history museum, or a web portal for Black-owned businesses. And we’ve seen more energy and action around diversity, equity, and inclusion in community celebrations, at private events, and through hiring and board practices.

With this renewed perspective and progress, we must keep the pace. This January 17, let’s make the holiday more than just a day off… support a Black-owned business, participate in a service activity to help people less fortunate than you, or do something toward making a better and more just Louisville.

Happy MLK Day of Service!

A not-so-subtle plug for downtown Black-owned businesses:

MELANnaire Marketplace, 416 W. Liberty St.

Black Jockeys Lounge, 630 S. 4^th St.

Black Ink Notary, 312 S. 4^th St.

Brendon’s Catch 23, 505 S. 4^th St.

Roots 101 African American Museum, 124 N. 1^st St.

Angles Selfie Museum, 111 W. Washington St.

E&S Gallery, 108 S. 10^th St.

KULA Gallery, 536 S. 4^th St.

The Seafood Lady, 601 E. Jefferson St.

Tha Drippin Crab, 1219 W. Jefferson St.