Dear UMB Community,

Today’s holiday recognizes the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s commitment to equality, equity, and justice, his key role in the American civil rights movement, and his indelible impact on our American democracy. One of Dr. King’s most quoted phrases is “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” It’s a quote that offers hope, is often used to celebrate progress, and allows us to imagine that justice is inevitable. 

As we honor his life and legacy, it is important to note that Dr. King said — in the same speech — “Let nobody give you the impression that the problem of racial injustice will work itself out. Let nobody give you the impression that only time will solve the problem. ... Somewhere we must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals. Without this hard work, time becomes an ally of the primitive forces of social stagnation. So we must help time and realize that the time is always right to do right.”

It takes action to bend that arc. At the University of Maryland, Baltimore, we seek to improve the human condition and serve the public good of Maryland and society at-large through education, research, clinical care, and service. Our core values set of Equity and Justice calls us to act. We must keep at the forefront how our actions impact those around us and how we might more actively live out our values as a university. How are we advancing the causes of justice and equality for which Dr. King stood? What are we doing — individually and collectively — to help bend that arc toward justice?

Each member of the UMB community has a role to play. Although so much of what we already do serves others and advances equity and justice, there is much more we can do. We invite you to think about what you can do as an individual and what we can do as an institution, to act in support of justice, and to invite others to do the same.

Sincerely,
 

Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS

President

Diane Forbes Berthoud, PhD, MA

Chief Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer and Vice President, UMB, and Professor, Graduate School