MLK JR!

Friday Jan 15 was his birthday.  I was actually teaching an OSHA Safety Course, first day, that day.  Martin Luther King Jr.  When I first started teaching OSHA Safety I was of course aware of the enormous sacrifices and contributions MLK Jr made during his life.  I knew the story of his assassination, that he was actually in Memphis, TN to support sanitation workers desire to unionize.  What went missing with my understanding of the events surrounding his death was just how intertwined and interconnected social, economic, and environmental justice issues were with safe workplaces. 

Over the years I have increasingly added to a required Introduction to OSHA discussion that moment in history, what MLK Jr was doing that fateful week of his death.  Advocating for workers, advocating for the poor, advocating for the disenfranchised, he was called to an extraordinary moment in our history and we are the better for his having answered that call.

As this day ends, the official day we celebrate one of our best examples of living a life of purpose that truly changed the way we think and conversations we have.  COVID-19 has limited interactions and acts of service.  I had to take a few moments today to remind my grandchildren of why they got to sleep in and not zoom for school!  It was a delicate conversation that I hope they will remember.  They live in a better world because of the many people who have come before them breaking down barriers, seeking only to serve the interests of humanity.  

Our workplaces are safer because it is no longer okay to discriminate against, to bully, to physically harm and put in harms way those who must work.  We honor the dignity of work in safe workplaces when we remember and reflect on the legacy MLK Jr.   What is work but a form of service.

 Happy Birthday!