The following essay was received yesterday, Martin Luther King Day, from Colorado Governor Jared Polis’ office.
My Fellow Coloradans,
Today, as we honor the memory and incredible legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the fact that we cannot physically link arm in arm in the ‘marade’ this year seems surreal. Just one year ago, we gathered together in City Park to celebrate all the progress we’ve made as a state and country, and solemnly reflected on the road we had yet to travel.
And it’s occasions like this one, when I know we all feel the pain of not being able to gather with community the ways we are used to.
In our mind’s eye, we walk in the shadow of this civil rights giant. Dr. King’s guiding vision of fairness, justice, and equality for all continues to be our North Star. Just a little over a week after attempts to dismantle the democratic ideals in our nation’s capitol that Dr. King himself died fighting for, we would do well to remember that inaction and passivity are the enemies of justice.
And we would do even better to remain walking on the long path to freedom, fighting with the tools of power we have at our disposal — the power to vote, the power to speak out, and the power to hold those abusing their power accountable.
The convergence of several inflection points over the last 12 months has thrown existing disparities across racial and geographic lines into sharp relief: a racial reckoning, a global pandemic, and ongoing economic hardship.
Dr. King wrote in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” I am proud that here in Colorado, we are combating injustices in our criminal justice system, health care system, and economy head-on in order to restore basic human dignity to historically disenfranchised communities.
We were one of the first states in the nation to pass sweeping police reform with the passage of Senate Bill 217. Because when it comes to building trust between historically over-policed communities and members of our law enforcement agencies, enforcement of our laws should not contradict the laws on our books.
We know that African American communities are among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic both in Colorado and across the nation. This is why, as vaccines make their way into communities across our state, we are deliberately prioritizing equitable distribution to ensure that as we recover, we recover together.
Together, as we look toward Colorado’s future, we have an opportunity to re-imagine what it can become. This pandemic has exposed the cracks in the very foundation of our systems and challenges us to strive toward something better.
While I look forward to the day when we can again link arm in arm, marching from Dr. King’s image enshrined in City Park toward the golden dome of our State Capitol, today, I am grateful to have the opportunity to recommit myself to serving those in our state who have been denied their inalienable rights for far, far too long.
I am honored to share in a vision of a Colorado for all with you where, in the spirit of Dr. King, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or country of origin, we fight for our neighbors and rise to meet and defeat every occasion of injustice.
Thank you for your empathy and compassion for one another through these enduringly difficult months. Your efforts and “good trouble” make me proud to serve every day.