At Green City Force, we honor the federal holiday marking the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a recommitment to our foundation of service. Part of Dr. King’s legacy lives on in purposefully designed service as a systemic solution to create a just, collaborative, and connected society.
While others promote fear, violence, and hatred, we honor courage, peace, and love.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s last book asks a still timely question: where do we go from here: chaos or community? It calls out the tragedy of Black youth unemployment. It reminds us of our fundamental interconnectedness as human beings, and to the planet, as part of what King called the “world house”. As a GCF family, we believe in the young Black and brown adults of NYCHA and in living as a family together in the world house. Every day, we are working to build community…
MLK noted:
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a loss of opportunity. The “tide” in the affairs of men” does not remain in the flood. It ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is deaf to every plea and rushes on…
We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation. This may well be mankind’s last chance to choose between chaos and community. ”
On January 6th, 2021 following a yearlong reckoning of massive injustice, violence, and corruption, a group led by white supremacists attempted to disrupt and abolish the democratic process for the peaceful transfer of power. At the same time, GCF Corps Members were distributing food to NYCHA communities and training for family-supporting workforce opportunities in sustainable careers. They were using their skills and passion to create positive change for themselves and their communities.
At Green City Force, we are doers. Through our work, we affirm that Black lives matter and refuse to resign ourselves to the ongoing oppression and discrimination against Black and brown people in this country. Dr. King stood against the systems of white supremacy through non-violence. We celebrate the courage of all who work for peaceful and democratic change.
In service,
The GCF Team