COVID-19 has affected just about everything in our lives. Our community’s annual celebrations in honor of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are not immune from the coronavirus pandemic.

Yet, as different as the events may be this time around, there still will be — and should be — a celebration for his life and the civil rights movement.

The annual MLK Jr. Humanitarian Walk and Festival is raising proceeds to help those affected by COVID-19. The festival is noon today and there will be a town hall meeting, from 1:30-2:30 p.m., that will be live-streamed. 

Our nation stands not united but more divided than it has been in any of our lifetimes. 

But even 50 years ago, King spoke words that resonate today: “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” 

Of all his speeches and writings, his most notable is arguably his “I Have a Dream” address, in which he proclaimed, “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.”

His words rang true then and they still need to be heard today, and not just on the day we set aside to celebrate his life and impact on our society.