The fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day event brought more than a hundred to St. Raphael's Parish Center to discuss issues in Medford and beyond.
Well over 100 Medford residents, politicians and community organization members gathered together at St. Raphael’s Parish Center in West Medford, invoking the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to share thoughts on today’s troubling trends of inequality.
The fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day event, presented by the Medford Human Rights Commission and the Mystic Valley Area NAACP, provided a platform to facilitate meaningful conversations between people about wealth inequality, affordable housing, getting younger generations involved in activism and creating a community that is welcoming to everyone.
"During this turbulent time in our country, more than ever we need to stand up for what is right, for what is just, for what is an underlying principle in these United States of America; that we are all created equal," said Mayor Stephanie M. Burke. "We must turn toward our neighbors, not away from them. We must become more inclusive. We must create a community of peace, equality and justice for all."
The event started with the playing of a video featuring people from different cultures performing a cover of Bob Marley’s "Redemption Song," and then a sample from one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches was played.
"When I say questioning the whole society, it means ultimately coming to see that the problem of racism, the problem of economic exploitation and the problem of war are all tied together," the audience heard King recite passionately. "These are the triple evils that are interrelated."
Wealth inequality on the rise
Bill Hager, executive director for the West Medford Community Center, spoke to what King was talking about in his speech, saying that it is more difficult now than ever to rise up economically if you were born into a life of poverty.
"The statistics tell us that, at one point in our culture, a high school degree was enough to make a living wage," Hager said. "Right now in Medford, according to the Census Bureau, if you’re an adult with only a high school degree or are a high school dropout, 40 percent of you live in poverty ... That’s a fundamental change in our culture."
Hager took issue with the mindset that people of lower income simply need to "work harder" to attain a better standing in life, saying that it unfairly simplifies the disadvantages faced by millions of people in America.
"The potential for rising out of the income category you were born into is relatively small. And that’s not to blame the people of those communities. It speaks to the opportunity gap," Hager said. "Blaming the poor is simple, it’s elegant and it’s wrong."
Ultimately, in Hager’s view, severe wealth inequality contributes to other difficult problems.
"Economic inequality is a component to all the other social ills," he said. "Whether that be violence or physical illness, mental illness. Not that poverty causes all of those, but it contributes heavily to them."
Appreciating our rights
Neil Osborne, who spent eight years as the president of the Mystic Valley branch of the NAACP, said that the most important factor moving forward to make a better society is to get the younger generation involved, and recognize the sacrifice that was required to get to where we are today.
"It’s energizing younger folks. It’s energizing them about the history," Osborne said. "A critical part of me doing a good job was educating our young folks and getting them to follow with the story. Making sure they understood that someone made a sacrifice, and some folks sacrificed their lives just for the opportunity that you may have today."
Osborne’s successor, Zane Crute, who was introduced as the new president of the NAACP’s Mystic Valley branch at the event, gave insight into the importance of equality groups like the NAACP, as well as individuals committing to self-improvement and the betterment of their society.
"Now, in a country where I feel we’re more divided than we’ve ever been, it’s important to have groups that continue to fight for social justice – for economic, social and political equality for all people," Crute said. "Individually, if we could all make strides and efforts to be a better person than we were the day before, the world is going to be a better place going forward."
Where do we go from here?
The event shifted focus to a series of roundtable discussions, culminating with dozens of people standing up to give their take on what inequality-related issues reside in Medford and what might be done to improve these issues.
A mere half-hour of discussion produced a fruitful conversation that touched on issues ranging from the minimum wage and housing costs, to setting up more mentoring programs for youth and how to prevent job loss in an increasingly automated professional world.
None of the problems presented were framed as having easy solutions, but rather were brought up as examples of issues that can only be conquered by a strong community that shares the same values, such as keeping an open heart, and that commits to make a difference for the better.
"I think it has to come from their own passion," said Diane McLeod, Medford’s Diversity director. "Maybe [you] can volunteer at a food pantry, maybe [you] can go to the march in Washington. It’s something different for everyone I think. It’s being good to your neighbor, it’s ‘Do you need something?’ It’s not rocket science, it’s a simple thing."
"In our family we had, for 13 years every month, a unity dinner where we invited our neighbors to come, bring what you were going to have for dinner anyways and just make friends," said Medford resident Leili Towfigh. "No political reason, no business reason, just friend-making. Which I think everybody can manage to some extent."
"If we cannot be friends," Towfigh continued, "it will be very difficult to deal with all these other issues."