By Thomas Sheffield
While the term sustainability is a new term, it is fair to believe that Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have supported sustainable ideals. The three areas of sustainability are People, Profit and Planet. Dr. King supported all three of these areas and preached to these different subjects. Not only was Dr. King concerned about social justice (people) issues. He realized that land use and economic power were essential to ensuring that all people have access to basic necessities. Dr. King touched on all these issues in his last speech on April 3, 1968 in Memphis Tennessee. Let’s look at the areas of sustainability a little further.
Dr. King was known as a leader that inspired millions of people to elevate above their own limited concerns and work for the greater good. He had faith in the idea of a rising tide raises all boats. During his last speech, he said “Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.”. That is what sustainability is. Sustainability issues challenge us to be at our best and benefit others and future generations. We all depend on each other for success. We need the best from each other so we can do our best. When people are not able to be at their best, the rest of society is missing out.
Dr. King fought for the right for everyone to live in a safe, clean environment. The poor low-income citizens have often lived on what King called “islands of poverty”. The poor live in the inner cities near industrial zones or around brown field zones. Low-income people are forced to live in the most polluted parts of our cities. If he were alive today, Dr. King would have empathized with the plight of those struggling to deal with drought, wildfires and floods brought about as a result of rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere caused by the abuse of our natural resources. He would have brought these issues directly to the consciousness of America.
Dr. King understood and preached about economic power. Dr. King understood the power of economic withdrawal. He understood the power of business because business did not care about race, creed or sexual orientation. Business is powered by the dollar. Business was first to integrate long before the government made it into law. Dr. King organized strikes on certain corporations that practiced unfair treatment of its stakeholders. He told the audience to tell certain businesses in his final speech: “And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you.” Imagine being a business and hearing a group of your customers tell you that.
We have so much work to do. Dr. King left us 45 years ago with a great challenge ahead of us to live happy, healthy and productive lives. Nothing would be more heartbreaking than for us to stop now. If you need help to learn how to do more, please feel free to contact me thomsustainableconsulting@gmail.com. Or you can visit my new website thomsustainbaleconsulting.com.