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A Day On, Not A Day Off: SSP Director's Message on Observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

11 January 2024

From Brenda Braswell

Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) and the nation recognize Monday, 15 January 2024 as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service On the same day, we honor and celebrate Dr. King's birthday and his legacy.  
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Dr. King was a minister, an intellectual, activist, organizer and a challenger of the status quo in the America in which he lived. He led the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. Two years later he became the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1960 he became co-Pastor, alongside his father, of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

In 1963 he organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom-an example of his philosophy of non-violent protest. At that march, he delivered perhaps his most famous speech at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. His speech that day was only 17 minutes long. What is most remembered from it are the soaring passages at the end, where Dr. King declared "I have a dream".
 
He was subsequently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 35. The genius of the Rev. Dr. King was expressed in that speech and throughout his life. Both his life and his work were-and remain-an inspiration.    
 
Dr. King once said "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." We can all make an impact; and we must not be deterred from any barriers, whether in the workplace or our personal life.
 
I encourage SSP personnel to celebrate Dr. King's legacy and his enduring theme to "Remember! Celebrate! Act!  A Day On, Not a Day Off!" through your own acts of kindness and generosity toward others.
 
To learn more about Dr. King's life, visit: https://www.defenseculture.mil/Special-Observances/#martin-luther-king-jr-birthday.
 
 
 

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