Page 27 - mlk 2023 booklet_no program_V2.pdf

January 16, 2023

Dear Friends,

It is my distinct pleasure to join you for the 38th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of
Celebration, and to welcome Fred Gray, a legend in civil rights activism and recent
recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to Lansing.

For more than three decades, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Commission of Mid-
Michigan has been a steadfast voice in ensuring Dr. King’s life, legacy, and nonviolent
struggle for justice is uplifted, celebrated, and lived out in the greater Lansing
community.

This year’s theme, “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial
injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood,” truly reflects the inflection point at which we
find ourselves as a nation. Amid what can feel like a rising tide of antisemitism, political
and social unrest, school threats, and online vitriol, we need opportunities like today’s
event to come together and lift one another in unity. Building that unity falls on the
shoulders of each and every one of us because, as Dr. King reminds us, “We must learn
to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

As we begin our work in the 118th Congress, I will continue to work to address the
critical issues we face, including housing, health care affordability, and equitable access
to educational and economic opportunity. You have my commitment that I will do so
with Dr. King’s vision of a unified, just community in mind. Today, I ask that you join
me in holding that vision at the forefront of all you do. I am grateful to the MLK
Commission of Mid-Michigan for its work in building community and unity of purpose
for all of us.

Sincerely,

Elissa Slotkin
Member of Congress

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