Reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and sharing insights from a recent trip to Liberia, Executive Director Layli Maparyan, Ph.D., urges us to embrace humanity’s interdependence and usher in a new future in which we all thrive:
Greetings from the Wellesley Centers for Women as we commemorate this Martin Luther King Jr. Day! This is a day of both celebration and reflection, particularly for all of us working for the betterment of the world.
As we enter 2022 and a third pandemic year, a consensus is emerging that there’s no going back to “the way things were.” Instead, we find ourselves in the middle of creating something new – a new normal, authored by us.
There’s no escaping the fact that we must all now be protagonists as we are called to action in the story of humanity that is unfolding all around us. We may wonder whether we are up to it. Yet, when history calls us to our biggest moments, rarely are things neat and tidy, clear-cut, or easy. Rarely do we feel all the way ready!
One thing that makes me proudest is the knowledge that those of us — including all of you, our friends and supporters – who have been out front on social change and social justice issues are, in many respects, steering the course of the future.
The movements for women’s empowerment, gender equality, racial justice, economic justice, LGBTQI+ rights, immigrant rights, and human rights, the movements to end all forms of violence, from gender-based violence to war, and to promote peace, as well as the movements for environmental justice and ecological sustainability, have together made the map to humanity’s future destination, and, even with detours, setbacks, and turnarounds, we are on our way there. Don’t you doubt it.
It’s this kind of thinking – thinking that comes from the heart, not just the head – that will get us over the hump of this pandemic and truly usher in a new future, a future in which we all thrive.
In all of these movements for the betterment of the world, it is impossible to achieve our goals without incorporating the Wellesley Centers for Women’s three central aims: gender equality, social justice, and human wellbeing. Furthermore, this work can’t be done effectively without research informing action. I feel proud that organizations like the Wellesley Centers for Women are central to all that lies ahead.
Over the winter break, I spent my time in Liberia, West Africa, a second home to me but also a place where I work on women and gender issues and higher education. People in Liberia are struggling, yet I witnessed a spirit of collaboration, hope, and joy that was inspiring.
Nevertheless, my visit to Liberia made it abundantly clear that humanity will not survive the current convergence of crises without increasing our conscious awareness of humanity’s interdependence. We must act upon this knowledge and live in a way that proves that everyone matters.
It’s this kind of thinking – thinking that comes from the heart, not just the head – that will get us over the hump of this pandemic and truly usher in a new future, a future in which we all thrive.
With a nod to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., thank you for seeing over the mountain-top with me and embracing a future of justice and love, peace, prosperity, and wellbeing for everyone. Here’s hoping that 2022 brings a ray of light to all of us!
January 17, 2022
