Another L.A. Times letter to the editor, because our voices matter:
King’s real message
Re “Obamas mark King’s birthday by doing something for others,” Jan. 17
To celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a day of service shows that we’ve forgotten King’s true legacy.
King was an activist, not a direct service volunteer. Activism and service are both good ways to help somebody else, but they’re not interchangeable. In service, we deal with the results of the system: When our neighbors are hungry, we feed them. In activism, we aim to change the system itself: When our neighbors are hungry, we demand a fairer economic structure.
King protested and led marches; he changed people’s minds and put his life on the line. He was the epitome of activism, and he showed that activism achieves great things.
His day should be an official day of activism. Service makes a strong society; activism makes a strong democracy.
Edwin Everhart
Los Angeles
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