School of Nursing

January 14, 2022

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Making the Dream Come True

With all that is going on in our world—our nursing world and the larger world—it is easy for more significant issues to get pushed into the background.

We should not let racial justice get pushed anywhere but to the foreground. As we honor Martin Luther King, Jr., we have an opportunity to think about and reflect on his message of how we will all benefit when privilege is replaced by equity and when both justice and opportunity are equally accessible for all.

Those who work in healthcare have a particular obligation to work toward the goals set forth by Dr. King. To fulfill our mission as healthcare professionals, we must live by the premise that all people are created equal and entitled to respect, dignity, and access to quality medical care.

Noble thoughts and great vision are necessary but not sufficient conditions for creating the needed change. That’s why the School of Nursing has committed to a Center for Antiracism in Nursing, a Strategic Action Plan for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, listening sessions, and many other initiatives to help make everyone more culturally and racially aware in ways that ultimately make us better nurses.

I see many people in our community contributing to this effort in many ways. This is why I’m pleased that School of Nursing students Tiffany Liu, Sammie Inevil, and Elina Chun Stewart are being honored with this year’s Health Sciences Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award. They have been instrumental in developing and implementing monthly BIPOC student meetings throughout the academic year. They have taken the initiative and generated ideas that shaped the meeting agenda, engaged their fellow students and helped catalyze meaningful change for many.

Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream. It was not an impossible dream, but turning it into reality requires commitment, effort, understanding, empathy, and dedication on everyone’s part. The day honoring Dr. King is an opportunity for all of us to dedicate ourselves to making his dream who we are.

I invite you to join me in doing that.