As we celebrate MLK, there's still more work to do
The Rev. Martin Luther King at a stop in Long Beach on May 12, 1965, during his tour of Long Island. Credit: Newsday/Alan Raia
As we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., it is clear that this nation has taken steps forward and backward in pursuing the principles for which he stood. For every bit of progress, there's been an obstacle. For every stretch of road behind us, more bumps lie ahead.
We see many of those successes and setbacks here on Long Island. Each reflects our effort, as King once said, "to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope."
The region's neighborhoods and schools still are mostly segregated, a situation that hasn't improved much since Newsday's Long Island Divided series in 2019, or in the decades that came before. While some advances have been made when it comes to the economy, jobs, health care and more, too many families still lack equal opportunities and resources.
So, even as the bright spots grow brighter, the legacy of racism that has shaped many of our communities, schools and businesses still needs to be addressed. That push and pull creates a tension in how we view the diversity of our neighborhoods, the reach for equity, and the need for inclusion — three words that separately have great importance, but which together have become politically toxic and misunderstood.
The current backlash was accelerated by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision that effectively ended affirmative action programs and race-based admissions for colleges, a ruling that came after almost 50 years of legal challenges to programs that used race as a factor in decision-making. Many companies and government agencies are now discontinuing DEI hiring and training programs for fear of similar legal challenges.
But the concerns are not just about litigation. DEI has become a flashpoint in the ongoing culture wars. Surely, there was overreach in some areas, which led to criticism, not just by the right, that such programs were ineffective and often more inflated by gestures than meaningful action and results. But we can't ignore that race, origin and gender are identities that still act as disadvantages that can prevent many from fulfilling their potential.
As this nation grapples with the repercussions of those decisions and considers what the years ahead could bring, it's imperative that the progress we have made thus far not be undone. We still need to ensure that workplaces, institutions and society itself are positive environments that allow all to thrive. Even when programs and their labels come under fire, goals and dreams must not.
As we commemorate King's legacy Monday, let's recall his words that so dramatically tried to show the nation a better path. More than six decades ago, King warned that "whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." That's still true. There have always been uneasy moments, disturbing rhetoric, and other setbacks on the long road to a more just society. Together, we must push forward step by step, until those steps outnumber the ones that force us back.
MEMBERS OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD are experienced journalists who offer reasoned opinions, based on facts, to encourage informed debate about the issues facing our community.