The United States honors the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the third Monday of every January. He left us with so many lessons to learn. This year we ask you to consider Dr. King’s words about “creative maladjustment” thoughtfully.
As you listen to Dr. King, we encourage you to ponder what it means to be “creatively maladjusted” to segregation and discrimination, including segregation and discrimination related to mental illness. For instance:
- What can we all do to ensure that people with mental illness have the same opportunities as everyone else?
- How do we ensure that mental health services and supports are as responsive to people of color as they are to others?
- How do we address inequities and injustices that cause more trauma for some groups of people?
- What do we do to increase the diversity of mental health providers and real-world supports for people who seek care?
We encourage you to reflect on Dr. King’s words on religious bigotry and disparate economic conditions.
May we all, like Dr. King, be proud to be “creatively maladjusted” to discrimination, bigotry and injustice.
Watch the video of Dr. King on Youtube.
[Featured Photo by Unseen Histories on Unsplash]
