The first Martin Luther King Jr. Day was January 20, 1986. Coretta Scott King, the wife of Dr. King, had a great idea in the year prior to the first observance of the federal holiday.
Speaking at a Mass in Chicago in 1985, Coretta Scott King proposed a year of action against hunger. For food is the most basic of the human rights that Martin Luther King Jr. advocated for in his heroic life.
As the Chicago Tribune reported Mrs. King said the year leading up to the new holiday honoring her husband “must be the fulfillment of the basic needs of the poor.”
Mrs. King said “In every major city in this country, there are people without food. Something is wrong that we have to feed so many. Why should there be poverty with all of our science and technology? There is no deficit in human resources, it is a deficit in human will.”
At the time Mrs. King proposed the year-long campaign against hunger there was a massive famine taking place in Ethiopia. People were starving to death in the African nation, a cruel injustice that we could not ignore.
“People don`t ever have to starve to death, there are solutions. We have failed if we can`t eradicate hunger in Africa and Ethiopia” said Mrs. King.
Americans responded to the cries of hunger in Ethiopia. The Washington Post reported that an interfaith service honoring Dr. King would give its offering to famine relief in Ethiopia.
A great way to honor Dr. King this year would also be a campaign against hunger. Any individual, school or organization could do this and dedicate itself to helping the poor and hungry everywhere.
At home food banks are facing high demand and need the support of the public to keep supplies up. Overseas famine is taking hold in Sudan, Gaza and other war-torn areas.
We need to put up a strong fight against hunger this year. It’s critical to our country domestically and in foreign policy.
Following Coretta Scott King’s plan of a year long campaign against hunger would be especially appropriate this year and encourage activism.
Part of that campaign against hunger could be a series of food drives collecting donations for your local food bank. We have done this in my neighborhood in Ohio very successfully since the pandemic, helping the nearby church provide food to the needy. Our nation’s food banks are also at the frontline of disaster response. The Los Angeles Regional Foodbank needs donations to help victims of the tragic wildfires in California.
Another good way to help is to be like Dr. King and write letters. You could write to your representatives in Congress asking them to support the fight against hunger at home and overseas. Congress decides the budget for food aid, so it’s important that you raise your voice in support of the poor and hungry.
Educating others about hunger is another important part of any campaign. It’s very rare that hunger gets media coverage so most people are uninformed about this social injustice.
Hunger is escalating worldwide because of wars and climate change. As the UN World Food Program says “343 million people across 74 countries are acutely food insecure, a 10 percent increase from last year and just shy of the record hit during the pandemic.”
If wars continue or another drought hits, that number will likely worsen. We need activism against hunger.
This Martin Luther King Jr. Day you too could kick off a year long campaign against hunger leading up to next year’s holiday. That would be an inspiring way to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and be a champion for human rights.
William Lambers is an author who partnered with the UN World Food Program on the book Ending World Hunger. His writings have been published by the Washington Post, NY Times, Newsweek, History News Network and many other news outlets. See www.williamlambers.com
