“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” Rev Martin Luther King Jr (1963)
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader, advocate and fellow Georgian, was a powerful voice who stood for equity, championing a “radical distribution of economic and political power.” He called for a major shift in power dynamics to benefit marginalized communities, specifically for Black and Brown Americans and Americans with low-incomes who are still subject to inequity and lack of access to opportunity. King’s power came from empowering others to speak truth and call for change, no matter how radical the opposition viewed that change.
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr Day. In 2025 it is also inauguration day, in which President Trump will be sworn into office. Today, in both state and federal policy, we still live under policies that do not address inequity or exacerbate the inequity that Dr. King spent his life speaking out against.
The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute uses this day to reflect on two inescapable truths. The first: we live in a nation plagued with inequity, a nation where policies founded on racism are making the lives of Black and Brown Americans, as well as Americans with low-incomes, difficult. The second truth: we believe in standing fast in our mission to make the state more equitable, standing fast with our partners, standing fast with Georgians and amplifying their voice.
Our focus is on Georgia. You can count on GBPI to hold our state leaders accountable. We will stay vigilant in our research and recommendations, highlighting how Georgia is distributing the money that belongs to the people of Georgia and how the Federal Government might change in the ways it supports Georgia. We will analyze policies and find places where there is opportunity to create a better state and call out policy that harms Georgians, specifically those in marginalized communities. We won’t stand alone; we will stand with partners. We will make our work accessible; it is our hope that Georgians use it to feel more empowered when speaking about policy. We will listen to Georgia and focus on the issues Georgians feel are important.
“We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Rev Martin Luther King Jr. Washington National Cathedral, March 31, 1968.