When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said “I have a dream” to a sea of people at the 1963 March on Washington, he was making a courageous call to combat injustice by encouraging Americans to live up to America's core values — dignity, equality, and opportunity for all people.  

Dr. King’s leadership inspired more and more people to overcome differences and serve one another, acts that advanced us closer to his dream. Juneteenth, the national holiday marking the end of slavery, reminds us just how far we’ve come. Despite Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender in the Civil War, African Americans remained enslaved in Texas until Union troops ordered the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19, 1865.  

Like the end of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement granted more people long-denied freedom. But decades later, we still have work to do. There’s still opportunity to help Americans take action to lift one another up. 

It requires a cultural movement in which more people treat one another with a shared humanity, what Dr. King called a Beloved Community — the ideal in which people feel a shared community where all people are interconnected.  

Building that movement and carrying on Dr. King’s dream relies on the power of service in communities — people helping people and overcoming differences. When we serve and work alongside one another, we see past our differences and overcome division.  

That’s why Dr. King’s son, Martin Luther King III, and his wife, Arndrea Waters King, started the Realize the Dream effort calling for 100 million hours of service by what would have been the 100th birthday of the great civil rights leader in 2029.

Even one act of service, says Arndrea King, can make our communities stronger, spread compassion, and heal division.

In an interview, the Kings reflected on Juneteenth and offered advice for people looking to get involved in Realize the Dream.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Stand Together: What called on you to start Realize the Dream?

Arndrea Waters King: What caused us to create Realize the Dream is our daughter. As parents, we have a very real obligation and responsibility to make sure our daughter is raised within the King legacy in a way that she understands and embodies. In that way, we're not unusual from any other parents who teach a child about Martin Luther King Jr. As we looked around and saw how divided we are, particularly among young people, we felt it was a call and a purpose to ignite a movement to bring our country together. But most importantly, for young people to create the world in which they're going to live. 

Besides achieving your goal of 100 million hours of service, what would make Realize the Dream a success?

AWK: That we would lay the groundwork for the foundation of what Martin Luther King Jr. called the Beloved Community. If we can wake up and we have moved the needle forward and the groundwork is there where people are beginning to look to each other rather than turning on each other, if we're building the groundwork where we can acknowledge our shared humanity, then that is what will make Realize the Dream a success.

What do you think is holding people back from getting involved in their community?

AWK: I really believe there are more people of goodwill than not in the community. First and foremost, most people don't know where to start to get involved, which is why Realize the Dream makes service and being involved as easy as possible. Also, what goes with feeling disconnected is feeling insignificant. There are too many people, and particularly too many young people, that may not realize the significance and the power they have.  

MLK III: There are so many things going on. We have to create the opportunity for people to take a moment, reflect, and say, “How do I want to engage to make a difference?” That's what we hope we are creating through a platform where there are many opportunities to serve. We know that when an individual decides that they want to do something that speaks to their heart, that’s where they're going to do the greatest amount of giving, the greatest amount of serving.

What are some things people can do to get involved in their community? 

AWK: We all have different passions. I would first and foremost encourage everyone to start with what that passion is. Because if you're doing something that you really are proud of and you're passionate about, it has even more intention. So that's the very first thing: Ask yourself, what is it that calls me in the world to make a difference? We’ve made it easy with the Realize the Dream website because people can go on, find service projects, create their own service project, and engage with others that are serving.

Juneteenth is a day that calls on Americans to reflect. What does this day mean to you?

AWK: Learning about history is about having moments to reflect on where we are as a nation, where we are in the world, where we have been, and where we can go. So, it's a moment for all of us to honor all of our ancestors — those that look like us or not. If you know that story, you are honoring the tremendous aspect of the human spirit that can overcome the most horrific and unbelievable. You really understand there's something put into each and every one of us: that tenacity, that courage, that quest for freedom and expansion. We should not have had the horrors of slavery, but it did happen. We need to know about it, we need to acknowledge it, and we also need to understand that there is a tremendous debt of gratitude due to those who built this nation.  

MLK III: It is said that people who do not remember history are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Never, ever, ever again must something like that happen to a group of human beings because we as a human spirit are far better than that. We are a much better nation than even some of the behavior that we see today. So, we are constantly in some kind of motion. We can choose to be in forward motion, or we can choose to be in backward motion. It's important to look at the past, so we can build a better future.

AWK: No. 1, we need to know our history. There are great stories to be told and lessons learned. Also, young people need to see and understand how critical it is to use their voices to uplift humanity. It’s important to understand that when you think about the Civil Rights Movement, when you think about the Birmingham movement, that was young people. They don’t have to wait until they’re adults to make their mark. Whenever you are standing up for what is right, true, and good, you are part of the great story of humanity.  

MLK III: That reminds me of Dad. Dad was on the scene in 1955 for the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He was 26, 27 years old. It really shows that in the history of our world, young people have been at the forefront. You're never too young to be involved in leadership if you choose to, or to make a contribution — and a contribution does not have to be monumental. Every last one of us can add a little bit to make the lives of ourselves, of our families, of our community, of our nation and world better. Every last one of us can.

Mr. King, your father’s name is often invoked as a symbol of peace in times of great upheaval or change. What part of your father’s message do you want people to take away?