Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Legacy: Inspiring Equality and Social Justice in New Generations (Episode 151)

Discover the profound legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as we honor his timeless impact on promoting diversity, inclusion, and equality in today's dynamic workplace and society. I'm Dr. Jason Wiggins, and this episode is a powerful tribute to how Dr. King's vision resonates with the hearts and actions of Millennials and Gen Zers. We'll journey together through the lessons of history and the eloquence of King's "I Have a Dream" speech, and you'll find out how the aspirations of yesterday's civil rights movement are mirrored in today's fervent social justice efforts, including the Black Lives Matter movement and the push to reform systemic issues within our institutions.

Join us for a heartfelt conversation that not only honors Dr. King's philosophy of love and progress but also confronts the current challenges across gender, race, and religion with an inspiring call to action. We explore the profound influence of Dr. King's teachings on successive generations and our collective responsibility to carry the torch of justice and equality forward. Through reflective discussions and personal insight, this episode promises to ignite a peaceful but persistent passion for civil rights within you and challenges you to contribute to creating a more equitable society. Let's continue the journey towards true equality, inspired by the infinite hope and unwavering spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Hello friends, welcome to your motivational Gen Z and Millennial Expert. I'm your host. My name is Dr Jason Wiggins and welcome to another great episode. I'd like to thank everybody for being here and your continued dedication to the podcast. Everybody has been terrific and, as I mentioned that, I would like to thank FeedSpot, as we are now ranked your motivational Gen Z and Millennial Expert podcast is ranked number 20th on the planet for the best Millennial podcast. Continue to share with your network, your friends, your family, as we appreciate the great support that we have had from everybody.

Speaker 1: 0:57

Today's Monday, january 15th, I hope everybody is having an excellent day and had a great weekend, and most of you are probably still on a three day weekend, if you're within the United States, because it is the celebration of Martin Luther King Day and we are going to actually go ahead and kind of typify what I should say, clarify what Dr King was trying to do and what we're still doing with Gen Zs and Millennials today, and we continue to progress. The key aspect here is that this podcast is for Gen Zs and Millennials and we are going to talk about the celebration of Dr King's life today. We're going to talk about how history tends to repeat itself. We're also going to go over the importance of this day and what it means, not only to the black community and the progression there, but to inclusion, diversity and equality as a whole, and the importance of it for Gen Z and Millennials in the workforce, in personal and professional life. We're also going to go over the what would you do moment. That's a part of our segment we do on each show and we'll ask a question to the audience and then we have a ponder of that question and then we can kind of go over what aspects would you do if you could do it? We'll have a motivational moment and we'll have some key quotes by Dr King about how he visualized the importance of ensuring that every single individual has a platform to ensure that we all can be human beings without being segregated, without being shamed for who we are, and that is the one strong aspect about Gen Zs and Millennials, and even maybe Generation X and Baby Movers share these same compliments. But the important part is we continue to ensure that everybody has an equal playing field, give it everybody the chance to provide a platform to speak, to be heard without condemnation. Today we talk about Martin Luther King, who passed away. He was shot by Earl Ray Jones back on April 4th 1968.

Speaker 1: 3:47

Martin Luther King. Dr Martin Luther King is most famous for his I have a Dream speech and I really believe that that I have a Dream speech. If you've never heard it, please go to YouTube and you'll be able to find it right there. And the key thing about his speech I have a Dream is about the passion to be peaceful, to demonstrate, while ensuring that they're getting their point across through peace. I would like to go over the words to I have a Dream because I think it's important, if you've never heard it, at least to understand the wording of it as we move forward and I will not give this speech any justice and I will not try to state it and how Martin Luther King did, but he stated I have a Dream.

Speaker 1: 4:43

It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a Dream that one day, this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. I have a Dream that one day, on the Red Hills, georgia, the sons of the former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a Dream that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a Dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a Dream today. I have a Dream that one day every valley shall be exalted and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

Speaker 1: 6:10

If you think about that, we have made significant progress over the life that passed for Martin Luther King, since 1968 to now 2024, we have made progression. But now it is up to millennials, gen Zs and the upcoming generation Alpha to continue to ensure that life, that progression, that we are able to see equality as a whole, as an end to be all. But we are not there yet and I have the hope that we will be one day. But unfortunately, the world is not a fair playground. Meaning there is always going to be people or groups that fight against segregation. Meaning fight against freedom, fight against diversity, inclusion, equality all of these things that are so vital to making this world a better place. But we celebrate the life of Dr King because he made such a significant impact and history tends, unfortunately, to always repeat itself. We have demonstrated that all people, regardless of race, religion, sex, creed, should be treated the same, without disparity. But where do we go from here to improve our world? We have listenership all around the world and as you listen to this, think about your own country, your own place, where you live.

Speaker 1: 8:13

Do you see freedom as free Meaning? Do you see the equality? Do you see the ability to be diversified in the workplace? You shouldn't have to go to work and be the only one of your sex, your race, whatever it may be, working within your building If you have the diversity, the inclusion and the equality that Gen Z and millennials are asking for in the workplace. No, they're not asking for it in the workplace, they're demanding it in the workplace. Why? Because over 75% of Gen Z and millennials are stating we will not continue to work in a place that is not diversified, that is not equality across the board. The expectation is there's men, women, race doesn't matter, sex doesn't matter, religion, everything doesn't matter. It's about the equality and if you don't demonstrate that within the workforce, that's just another reason that Gen Z's and millennials will leave your workforce, and that is very concerning.

Speaker 1: 9:32

One of the important things that Gen Z and millennials also see is some of these characteristics that I found. These were four different individuals that stated what are the words that come to mind when you see the impact of Dr King on Gen Z's and millennials and these four individuals? The first person stated influential, change agent, humanitarian. The next person said unrelenting, muse, extraordinary. The third person stated courageous, visionary, human. And the fourth person said charismatic, humble and trailblazer. Listen to these characteristics that were stated and the one that stands out above all of them and they're all fantastic, but the one that stood out think about it was human.

Speaker 1: 10:34

It's about being human. It's about understanding, being relevant to the cause, progressing the cause, determining how you as an individual, as a leader, as a family person, a friend, how can you make a difference in somebody else's life, in a social group's life, in any impact where you can make a difference. That's why Martin Luther King, rosa Parks and all of these key people that were part of the progression, either within nonviolence or an activist standpoint they were there to make a difference. They defied what the norm was. If they hadn't defied what the norm was and nobody else did that and we're talking about sex, religion, race if people haven't stood up for what they believe in, we would still be back in the days where, maybe again, if nobody else stood up, slavery, injustice, all of these things that are such a negative within our past foundation, within the countries that we live in.

Speaker 1: 11:56

Well, it's a lot different now. Why is it a lot different? Because people stood up for what they believe in. They understood that the greater good was bigger than the minimal part that they were in Meaning. They understood that the platform that they have can be used for something greater. You see that in today's society, with stars or influential individuals within our society, they are continuing to make a difference for standing up for what they believe in. Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong, but they are trying to stand up for making a difference and that is how we create a continued foundation for equality, inclusion, diversity, social change, all the aspects that are important to society, the continued progression for being a better place than we left it.

Speaker 1: 13:01

And so, when you go back to Dr King's message, he talked about places like Mississippi that had sweltering injustice. Why do they have sweltering injustice? Because they weren't informed, they didn't understand that all individuals are equal, regardless of the color of their skin, regardless of the religion, regardless of their sex. I mean it was within the last 40 years within the United States that women were allowed to vote. And think about that, think about how far we've come.

Speaker 1: 13:45

Women typically sometimes don't get the same wages that men do. Wouldn't that be considered, you know, inequality? Of course it would be. It still happens in today's workforce. It's been very, very noted that the salaries of men and women, specifically in the United States, workforce typically is not the same. Is it because there's lack of experience, lack of whatever? Not necessarily. If you take off, if it's a man or woman on the resume and they've been hired for the same position, I bet you look at those resumes and they will be very similar to each other. That means that there is still inequality among women. There's still inequality among gay. There's still inequality among race, no matter what.

Speaker 1: 14:44

We had episodes of issues with 9-11. It raised Muslim concerns. It raised Jewish concerns about what's happened recently. Inequality what is all this inequality surrounded by? Surrounded by hatred? It's surrounded by individuals not realizing that we all have the same blood that runs through our veins and this blood is no different if you live here, you live in the Middle East, you live in Russia, you live in South America, you live in Antarctica, whatever it may be, absolutely no difference. The only difference is there may be a different color of your skin, you may have a different religion, you may be a male or female or transgender, or you may have different creed. Whatever it may be, it doesn't matter because, as Dr Martin Luther King stated, I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, that one day we will not have slavery, we will not have inequality among all of these different things I mentioned. We have a lot of work to do.

Speaker 1: 16:16

Fortunately, gen Zs and Millennials have continued to step up and provide the continued foundation and provide why we are where we are today. Currently, gen Z now sees Black Lives Matter movement as the second most impactful event in their lifetime, of course, behind the coronavirus. That, right there, tells you how passionate the Gen Z generation is about ensuring that we have equality among Black, white, brown whatever the color of your skin may be, that we have the equality. But also, 81% of Gen Zs say that the United States is on the wrong track. Now I believe we have listeners out in some countries that are much more progressed than the United States. You understood, way before the United States has, about the importance of equality and thank you for that, because your continued progression will only help us move forward.

Speaker 1: 17:35

The United States has struggled with the continued equality among our Black African Americans, why? I mean? We can go back to many, many years before Martin Luther King. We can go back to Rosa Parks, then Martin Luther King, then all the different type of movements. We can talk about anti-African American cultures like, I should say, cultures, groups like the Ku Klux Klan, people that were short-minded and didn't understand or want to understand the significance of the hatred that they were providing. We can talk about the Rodney King beating in LA and what the injustice to the police department did. We can talk about the recent movements within the US, oregon, michigan, and all these outlining Wisconsin, all these outlining areas where we cause major issues, major hatred among people, separation between police departments and civilians.

Speaker 1: 18:45

And I want to make it very known that the police departments, 99.9% of those individuals that work for police departments, are heroes. They do the right thing, they ensure that justice is taken care of, equality is taken care of. But unfortunately, like anything, there are a few bad apples out there and those apples that treat their platform as a necessity for hatred we cannot continue to condone. We have to continue to condone that because, ultimately, we are a society and we should be a society that cares about others and, as that person from the Gen Z mentioned, courageous, visionary and the most important human, the human element is what we take out. I'm guilty, just like everybody else, about sometimes, when you see the homeless on the street, you tend to turn your head. Well, we got to stop turning our head, we got to go. All right, this is the problem, but we just can't keep throwing resources that help the situation. We need to find ways to get the individuals off the street, get them the help that they need, and that will be important, and that's why we need to get the help to the people out there that don't believe equality, inclusion, diversity are important. Well, if you're in the, if you're a a important, important person within leadership roles or you're within the C suite, then you also understand, or you need to understand, that your actions within the workplace are going to necessitate how successful you are retaining, attracting and motivating your workforce.

Speaker 1: 20:39

Today we have a chance to glorify, to put on a platform to demonstrate how important Dr Martin Luther King was to the world. Why? Because he demonstrated the love, the support and an activist type of personality that was demonstrated by peace and declaration of equality for all. This day is a necessity for Americans, for those around the world. Even if you don't know who Dr King is, just realize that, wherever you may live, the important aspects of your society when it comes to diversity, inclusion, equality, all of those things. He was just an individual that stood up for what he believed in, and I know that each country has individuals that share those same characteristics, those qualities. So think about those persons that have made such an impact on your country, your culture and humanity as a whole, and celebrate those individuals. Those individuals are the ones that have created the journey, created the continued path, the progression to where we are today. Again, I want to take a moment to thank all of those people that continue to be impactful on where we are. We talked about the celebrating of the life of Dr King. We talked about how history tends to repeat itself and the continued disparity, but we need to continue to rise up and challenge those individuals and groups and those organizations that tend to not believe or support equality, diversity and inclusion. We discussed the importance of how the Black Lives Matter campaign has continued to move forward and tries to echo what Dr King was trying to get across to all about equality, justice and not having racial divide.

Speaker 1: 22:58

The one thing I want to talk about in our next segment that we started a few podcasts ago is the what would you do moment. This part of the podcast is what would you do moment. So let's think about this. I'm going to provide you a question and then I'm going to discuss the question a little bit, but I'd like you to kind of think about it and think about how you would react If you witnessed racial injustice or inequality in a place of business. How would you react If you saw somebody yelling profanities at somebody that was a different race, a different gender, with a different religion, whatever it may be. How would you react? Would you react with a sense of compassion, with a sense of what should I do? Moment? Would you go console the person? Would you defend the person to the group or individual? That's? That's discussing in a negative manner. What would you do in that moment? And that's the part that I think is important is that shows the humanistic side of each and every one of us that is so valuable. We as humans can do so much, which relieves me to the motivational moment. Every podcast, I always want to ensure that I leave you with the motivational aspect that will continue to provide you additional insight and successful journey within your professional and personal life.

Speaker 1: 24:42

What Dr King has ultimately taught us is to love one another without barriers, meaning, when we open up our ability to care about causes that benefit others versus ourselves, we are able to transform our ability to make contributions. There have been many great movements in our history that have brought us to the point where we are today. That's called progress. Progress doesn't stop. The tools in our tool chest need to continue to be sharpened, and that's the same with progress what Dr King has started that we have continued to carry. We need to continue to move that forward within our society. We can do so much more in helping all individuals share in reaching the end result of Dr King's.

Speaker 1: 25:41

I have a Dream speech, but the caveat to the end result of Dr King's speech is there is never no end. Why? Because as individuals, as friends, family, coworkers, key individuals within our society, we always have the duty to answer the call. Can you answer the call when it's time? If you see something in that, what would you do moment? How would you react? What would you do? We've talked about it before. Are you going to run towards that burning building or are you going to run away and retreat? There is no wrong answer, but sometimes doing nothing is the wrong answer. And so many people equal the sediments that Dr King exhibited in that. I have a Dream speech of 1963.

Speaker 1: 26:40

So many people believe in what he said, but there are so many that stood still, stood silent and decided the actions that I will take will be none. And the actions if you take are none means you won't make a difference. We are on this earth, we are in society, to continue to progress, to move the needle. And how do we do that? We do that by caring about people, by loving people. The question is would you rather have a long life without love or would you rather have a short life with your loved ones? And that question can make people feel uneasy, but that is a question of are we selfish or are we willing to do what is needed to be done to ensure that the legacy that we have, as Dr Martin Luther King did, the legacy that we have, can we make a difference? We can all state with 100% assurance that Factor King made a difference in all the lives of humanity, and now we have Gen Zs and Millennials and Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. They're all making a difference. Why? Because the platform was staged, the foundation was made, and now we have created a template. That template is driving us towards continued change, continued progress to ensure that we have equality, that inclusion, that versification of all humans is eligible among the workforce, among the groups, and we can share compassion, humanity for all.

Speaker 1: 28:38

I'd like to leave everybody with some quotes that Dr King's talked about and there's more than one quote, because they were all so good. One is there is no gain without struggle. Another Martin Luther King quote true peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice. The third Dr King quote our lives begin to the end of the day. We become silent about things that matter. The fourth quote the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. And the last we must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope. This one was saved for last because I think this one really states the most progression. We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.

Speaker 1: 29:40

Today we have shared on the podcast about Dr Martin Luther King why we celebrate and how we can celebrate those important individuals within our country's heritage and culture. We discussed the impact that Dr Martin Luther King had within what we can now say that we are continuing the progress, but we're not there yet and history always tends to repeat itself. We are now seeing many of the same equalities within transgender rights, equality amongst men and women, still in race and in religion, and we talked about the importance of what this day means. And then our part of our segment what would you do? Moment, along with our motivational content and our quotes of the day by Dr Martin Luther King.

Speaker 1: 30:39

Again, I want to thank FeedSpot. We are now rated number 20th on the planet for Best Millennial Podcast, so please continue to share with your network. I'm excited to continue to share content with you. We will continue to help progress what's important to Gen Z and millennials in the workforce, personal and professionally. I want to thank everybody for your continued support. I wish everybody will think about what this day really means and I thank you and I look forward to seeing you on our next podcast. Again, this motivation is for Gen Z and Millennials. It is called your motivational Gen Z and Millennial Expert Podcast. So thank you and we'll see you next week on Monday and we'll have another great episode. Thank you, take care, bye, bye.