A panel discussion with Utah leaders on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Photo: Salt Lake City TV
SALT LAKE CITY — Many Utah leaders offered statements and reflected on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the national holiday on Monday.
Gov. Spencer Cox encouraged Utahns to serve as examples that honor Dr. King’s life’s work; to abandon racism and become an example of respect and humanity.
Sen. Mike Lee quoted Dr. King’s on service and how everyone, regardless of education status, has the capacity to serve and do good for others. Many honor Dr. King on the national holiday by volunteering or performing acts of service.
Several of Utah’s political leaders joined Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall in a panel discussion Monday morning.
Salt Lake City Councilwoman and Chair Amy Fowler, Councilman Alejandro Puy, Utah Human Rights Commissioners Jason Wessel and Esther Stowell, and Rev. France Davis were guided in a conversation mediated by a legislative intern. They discussed the life and legacy of Dr. King.
Rev. France Davis spoke to Tim Hughes on Utah’s Morning News on Monday. Rev. Davis knew Dr. King personally and played an important role in the movement to create a national holiday in honor of King’s work and life.
President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints commemorated the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr by discussing his friendship with San Francisco Reverend Amos C. Brown.
President Nelson, in a statement published to all of his social media platforms, discussed Brown’s relationship with Dr. King. He noted, Dr. Brown was one of the eight students in the only class taught by Dr. King in his lifetime at Morehouse College.
President Nelson said Dr. Brown “had a front-row seat to history and was shaped as he looked at the events of the civil rights movement through the lens of faith.”
Today, Reverend Amos C. Brown sits on the Board of Directors for the NAACP.
“I like to think that my friend Amos and I are, in a very small way, the embodiment of Dr. King’s vision that people from different backgrounds and races can ‘sit down together at the table of brotherhood,” President Nelson said.
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