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Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an annual federal holiday (despite efforts to diminish it) honoring one of the most influential figures in the American civil rights movement.

Today’s Goodnewsletter goes beyond the inspiring social media quotes (though those are great, too!), and is filled with good news and resources that celebrate and honor King’s life — and continue his legacy.

Racial justice

58 years after his assassination, MLK’s vision of ‘love as a moral imperative’ matters now more than ever

More than 50 years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the United States remains divided by issues of race and racism, economic inequality, and unequal access to justice.

For King, love was not sentimental, but rather a key part of creating communities that work for everyone and not just the few at the expense of the many. It also demanded that individuals tell their oppressors what they were doing was wrong.

King noted that all persons exist in an interrelated community, and all are dependent on each other. By connecting love to community, King argued there were opportunities to build a more just and economically sustainable society that respected difference.

→ Read more​

More Good News

​California is offering free entry to more than 200 state parks on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (Gifted link) Governor Gavin Newsom framed the move was a rebuke to the Trump administration, which cut Dr. King’s birthday and Juneteenth, two holidays honoring Black history, from the list of free entry days at national parks this year.

​An MLK Day concert is relocating from the Kennedy Center after 23 years. Georgetown University’s annual “Let Freedom Ring” event, headlined by actor and rapper Common this year, will instead be held at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C.

​MLK’s belief in “religious pluralism” can help us navigate this age of polarization. King believed in pluralism, or the idea of multiple communities engaging one another, acknowledging their differences and shared bonds, and striving to create what King called a “Beloved Community.”

​Houston is hosting a united MLK Day parade for the first time in 30 years. Previously, two organizations hosted competing MLK Day parades, but this year are bringing their events together for the 2026 MLK Unity Parade, which is expected to bring 400,000 participants.

Interesting story

MLK is often portrayed as a ‘civil saint,’ but his beliefs were truly radical. Here’s what he really thought

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be the good

3 ways to actually, meaningfully celebrate MLK Day

Today, your feeds will likely be filled with inspiring quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr. And that’s wonderful — but it’s important we don’t reduce Martin Luther King Jr. Day to a “day off” or social media quote.

​Here are some ways to do that today:

1. Read King’s full teachings, not just quotes or excerpts, like ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’, ‘Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?’, and ‘The Quest for Peace and Justice’ (his Nobel Peace Prize lecture).
2. Create systemic change by taking a “day on” to take action in alignment with the things MLK fought for: voting rights, nonviolence, racial justice, affordable housing, and more.
3. Work to end racism in your own life by continuing to learn about antiracism — and taking action in your everyday life.

→ Read more​

Good Quote

​→ 181 Martin Luther King Jr. quotes that go beyond his dream​

More Good bits

🤞 Hope and optimism aren’t the same — and MLK taught us that.

❤️ Get inspired by the best quotes from King’s wife, Coretta Scott King.

🪧 (Long before she met and married Dr. King, she was a committed social justice activist.)

✏️ You probably didn’t learn this about MLK in school. (Instagram)

🗓️ Today is also a great day to start planning your Black History Month celebrations.