Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday
The late Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated
from Morehouse College in 1948, the same year he entered the ministry. He received
numerous awards for his tireless work, including Time Magazine's Man of
the Year Award in 1963 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Dr. King was a powerful, persuasive speaker. In his "drum major instinct"
sermon delivered in February of 1968, he said "Yes, if you want to say that
I was a drum major, say that I was drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum
major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all the other shallow
things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the
fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed
life behind. And that's all I want to say."
VA is in a position to continue Dr. King's legacy of helping others by being "drum
majors" for America's veterans. Our military veterans and their families are
our highest priority, and the people who serve them our most treasured resource.
So we must ensure that equal opportunity is carried out through the hiring, promotion,
and advancement of our diverse workforce.
For further information on VA's Black Special Emphasis Program, contact the
program manager.
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