Jewish Labor Committee

Before the successes of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, racial segregation was enforced by law in many states. And while the U.S. Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to vote, millions of African Americans were subjected to 'intelligence' tests, poll taxes, and when that didn't work, death threats. Some paid the ultimate price.

Some ask, "What has changed as a result of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his many fellow civil rights activists?" The decades-long work of many thousands of organizers, educators and troublemakers has made progress. If people born since 1968 could see what was considered "normal" before Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus, they would think they were on another planet.

That is why we celebrate Dr. King's birthday - not just for his sacrifice, but for his accomplishments, and for the accomplishments of the brave people, many unnamed, who struggled for freedom and justice. It's a day for everybody, to reflect and to think about what can be done to carry the struggle forward.

Reread his famous speech in its entirety: we can see that there's a long way to go. Racial segregation and discrimination are now outlawed. But they are still part of many American's daily lives - in housing, in education, in job opportunity, and in access to security and happiness.

In Dr. King's last days, he was organizing a Poor People's Campaign to confront the federal government for breaking the promise of a "war on poverty." Dr King's criticism of American poverty rings as true today as ever. The need to continue his work for economic and civic equality was made clear by recent financial reports. The "Great Recession" left us reeling, with particular damage to family finances and home equity. In 2012, the unemployment rate for whites was 7.4%, below the national average. Blacks had a 13.6% unemployment rate and Hispanics, 11%.

In December 2014, the Pew Research Center reported that while "the economic recovery has begun to mend asset prices, not all households have benefited alike, and wealth inequality has widened along racial and ethnic lines.

"The wealth of white households was 13 times the median wealth of black households in 2013, compared with eight times the wealth in 2010.... Likewise, the wealth of white households is now more than 10 times the wealth of Hispanic households, compared with nine times the wealth in 2010.

"The current gap between blacks and whites has reached its highest point since 1989, when whites had 17 times the wealth of black households."

Dr. King's last stand was in Memphis, in support of striking sanitation workers. He gave his life for these hard-hit government workers.

We don't have to stretch our imaginations to see the connection between that struggle and today's low-wage fast food and other retail workers fighting for $15 an hour. Or thousands bearing witness against racial profiling. They are not imitating or invoking Dr. King's work - they're carrying it on in the same spirit.

From the start of the modern civil rights movement, the Jewish community, including the Jewish Labor Committee, has contributed active participants and support. This was true in the fight for civil rights, voting rights, and workers' rights.

In today's growing movement to confront economic inequality, demanding dignity and democratic rights, the Jewish community should continue to strive to meet the standards of commitment and dedication set by Dr King, and his many allies, including those in the Jewish Labor Committee, in the labor movement, and the larger movement for social justice.

Rita Freedman is Acting Executive Director of the Jewish Labor Committee.