Today, we honor the man who had one of the most significant impacts on our country as we know it. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was, and is, a national symbol of justice and equality, with a memory and legacy that will endure.

In these polarized times, we can honor the memory of Dr. King by rejecting the extremists on both the left and on the right and by saying no to violence, and to the dividers among us. We can stop treating people as part of a group and look at them as individuals who share many of the same concerns of fairness, equality, and justice for everyone.

Dr. King implored us to be our better selves and to allow our actions to reflect the goodness within us. As America struggles for unity, Dr. King has words to guide us: “Within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. … Discover the element of good in your enemy. And as you seek to hate him, find the center of goodness and place your attention there and you will take a new attitude.” I believe that we, as a people, are up to this challenge.

I hope that in 2021, America can get closer to the world that Dr. King envisioned 50 years ago.