MLK Day Celebrated in 5th District

Congressman Steny H. Hoyer observed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 15 at events held throughout the Fifth District, including the St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s 14th annual MLK prayer breakfast and the Charles County NAACP’s 23rd annual prayer breakfast.

“I was so glad to spend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day with my constituents in the Fifth District,” Congressman Hoyer (D-Md., 5th) said Monday. “In 2017, we saw the ugly face of racism on the streets of Charlottesville, in the way many reacted to protests by athletes, and in racist comments made by President Trump. These brazen displays of hatred and racism make today’s gatherings even more meaningful and consequential.”

“The values championed by Dr. King and his fellow civil rights leaders, like my good friend Rep. John Lewis, are being put to the test,” continued Congressman Hoyer. “America has always been a land of opportunity, and we cannot allow the progress made by Dr. King to be diminished. As we spend time today honoring the legacy of Dr. King, let us remain full of hope and determination to continue the progress made by our civil rights leaders.”

Congressman Hoyer also encourages Fifth District residents to participate in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service by volunteering in the community. The MLK Day of Service is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service – a “day on, not a day off.” Click here to learn more.

The congressman issued this statement Monday:

“As we mark the eighty-eighth anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth, let us draw on his inspiring legacy to guide us through the challenges of our present day. Perhaps the greatest lesson we must heed is that justice cannot be achieved without toil. That nothing can be taken for granted on the long march of progress. Dr. King, in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, rejected the “strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills.” In truth, he wrote, “… we must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be co-workers with God …” On this day, when we remember Dr. King and his life of faith, struggle, and sacrifice for the causes of justice and equality, let us remember that we cannot simply wait for these goals to be met but must meet them with our resolve.

“I’m proud to serve in Congress alongside many who were, as I was, inspired to enter public service in large part because of Dr. King and his leadership of the Civil Rights Movement, including my colleagues who serve in the Congressional Black Caucus. The mission to which he called all of us continues, so we must continue to make it our own. This means standing up for social and economic justice by opposing policies – like Republicans’ dangerous tax overhaul – that force the poor and those working hard to get by to subsidize massive tax cuts benefitting the wealthy. It also means protecting the right to vote and combatting poverty. Success in these efforts is never guaranteed, and progress only marches forward upon our own determined feet. So let us continue to take every step forward with a resolute will. Let us bend the arc of the moral universe together through the strength of our persistent hands so that it inches closer to the justice we know is not only possible but necessary.”

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For more information about House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer, visit his Leader Page.