Leading into the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s federal holiday, activist Tony Lewis Jr. reflected on the slain civil rights leader’s valiant justice fight and how he might look at the world today.
“King would encourage us in our communities to love each other. He would encourage the powers that be to create more opportunities to access, to really address poverty, which is, I think, the primary driver of mass incarceration and of crime in general. I know that was one of the pillars for him,” said Lewis Jr., a D.C. native who fights against mass incarceration and works toward family reunification.
Adding that “Black people are still the most economically disenfranchised” racial group in the
U.S., Lewis Jr. emphasized that addressing economic disparities would be key for King.
“And economic justice, I think, is the thing that Dr. King would fight for the most. And you know, prior to his death, I think that it had become sort of his seminal [work],” he said.
Lewis Jr. also noted King’s passion for peace and considered what his take would be on today’s wars abroad and challenges of violence across communities in D.C. and the U.S..
I think Dr. King would be speaking out for peace in Gaza and Israel. I think he will ultimately be speaking out about the importance of us stopping violence in our own communities. So the same things he still fought in the late ’50s and ’60s. I think he will be standing for today. Unfortunately, I think so many of those issues that we think are a part of a bygone era are very present, very present,” Lewis Jr. said, before also noting King’s anti-Vietnam War stance.
“We’re still seeing war in Israel and Gaza and in Ukraine, so I’m just praying for peace throughout our world.” Lewis Jr. continued. “We all have to live out the dream of Dr. King, and again, find our way, find our peace, and ways to help bring value and bring us together.”