Reflecting on Dr. King’s Legacy

January 18, 2023

Reflecting on Dr. King’s Legacy

On Monday, ACEC joined the nation in commemorating and celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The peaceful revolution led by Dr. King changed not just laws, but also hearts and minds. His was a movement of human courage that altered the arc of history.

As we recognize all Dr. King did throughout his all-too-brief life to promote respect for human dignity, I am reminded of a quote from his 1965 Oberlin College commencement address.

“Through our scientific and technological genius, we’ve made of this world a neighborhood,” he stated. “And now, through our moral and ethical commitment, we must make of it a brotherhood.”

Indeed. And engineers are doing just that. Every day, in every corner of our country, the more than half-million professionals that compose our Member Organizations are leveraging technology and talent in service of our neighbors and neighborhoods, designing the structures and systems that fuel progress and prosperity. Engineering has the capacity to improve every human endeavor. We build bridges. We build nations. We also build relationships. We serve our communities and the people who live in them. Engineers make life safer, greener, healthier, and more accessible.

Engineers also make the world more equitable. By conceiving and creating the roads, bridges, rail networks, and transit systems that connect communities, our industry is making strides for increased mobility. Transportation is about more than simply getting people from Point A to Point B. It’s about connecting them with opportunities and resources that may otherwise be inaccessible.

“When I am commanded to love,” wrote Dr. King, “I am commanded to restore community, to resist injustice, and to meet the needs of my brothers.” Our industry is deeply committed to building and restoring community – both figuratively and literally. What you do is changing the world. Engineering is not only building a future of which we all can be proud, but also a future in which we all can be included.

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