Walk With a Doc January 19, 2026 - 1 Year Anniversary & MLK Jr. Day

"Celebrating one year of Walk with a Doc DeLand at historic Oakdale Cemetery with a reflection on the social philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."

Here are four short, secular excerpts from Dr. King’s later works, to celebrate our 1 Year Anniversary of Walk With a Doc – DeLand and DeLand Foot & Leg Center, January 19, 2026.

These focus on economics, the dignity of work, and the interconnectedness of society, making them excellent choices for a grounded, thoughtful discussion in a historic setting.  

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1. On the Interconnectedness of Humanity

From: "The World House" (1967)

"All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what you ought to be. This is the inter-related structure of reality."

2. On the Dignity of All Labor

From: Speech to Local 1199 Hospital Workers (1968)

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.' ... All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence."

3. On Economic Justice and "The Other America"

From: "The Other America" (1967)

"But we must see that the struggle today is much more difficult. It’s more difficult today because we are struggling now for genuine equality. It’s much easier to integrate a lunch counter than it is to guarantee a livable income and a good solid job. It’s much easier to guarantee the right to vote than it is to guarantee the right to live in sanitary, decent housing conditions. It is much easier to integrate a public park than it is to make genuine, quality integrated education a reality."

4. On Power and Justice

From: "Where Do We Go From Here?" (1967)

"One of the great problems of history is that the concepts of love and power have usually been contrasted as opposites—polar opposites—so that love is identified with a resignation of power, and power with a denial of love. Now, we must get this thing right. What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice."