In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. relocated his family to Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood, a community that had become a focal point of housing discrimination. At the time, Black residents were systematically excluded from living in the predominantly White, middle-class areas of the city. Partnering with local Chicago activists, Dr. King aimed to challenge these unjust housing practices. He later described in his autobiography:

“The slum of Lawndale was truly an island of poverty in the midst of an ocean of plenty. Chicago boasted the highest per capita income of any city in the world, but you would never believe it looking out the windows of my apartment in the slum of Lawndale.”  Struck by the children in his Lawndale neighborhood, Dr. King added, “You realized their overwhelming joy because someone had simply stopped to say hello…In the tight squeeze of economic pressure, their mothers and fathers both had to work.”

This effort, led by Dr. King, would become known as the Chicago Freedom Movement. The Movement officially established housing justice as an integral part of civil rights and paved the way for the landmark Fair Housing Act of 1968.

Mercy Housing was founded on the belief that housing justice is social justice. We haven’t just been building inclusive, affordable housing for more than 40 years but have also been building diverse communities where people living with low incomes can plant roots and thrive.

As we commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we want to know what you are doing to keep his legacy alive? Does one of his quotes below resonate with you:

1. “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
2. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'”
3. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
4. “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
5. “The time is always right to do what is right.”
6. “We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”
7. “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech may have symbolized his vision, but his work to create a more equitable society resonated nationwide and continues today. Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” was one of the catalysts for ensuring that by working together, we could create a more equitable and just society.