As Washingtonians honored the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) and flooded the Southeast D.C. street named in his honor on Jan. 19, volunteers followed closely behind with reach extenders and large garbage bags in hand to clear the street of any litter they encountered.
Maurice Foushee co-chairs the cleanup held annually, either on or before MLK Day — a staple in D.C.’s celebration of the holiday. By bringing the community together to perform an act of service that simultaneously beautifies the city and promotes environmentalism, this event works to immortalize the luminary’s legacy.
“Dr. King was a man of service — not just for a select few, but for everyone to contribute to a better community, so that’s why I do it,” Foushee told The Informer. “We’re certainly not doing the work sanitation workers do, at least not to the full extent that they do, but we’re helping out a little bit.”
MLK’s Contributions to Environmental Justice
While King was a prominent champion for racial equality, he also strongly championed environmental consciousness.
The day before his assassination in 1968, the faith leader was in Memphis supporting sanitation workers who were striking over polluted and dangerous working conditions. This is where he delivered his speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” in which he outlined the intersection between labor rights, racial justice and environmental health.
King encouraged the workers to keep fighting for their rights despite the trials and tribulations faced, leading to the strike’s success— a victory against environmental racism. His relentless advocacy, leadership and sophistication were catalysts for the passing of worker safety and environmental legislation, including the Occupational and Safety and Health Act of 1970, the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974.
“I think it’s important that we share the whole complexity of the man and his ideas for people who have no idea who King is — no idea of the struggles that he faced while trying to bring justice into the world for black people,” Stuart Anderson, co-chair of MLK Holiday DC, told The Informer.
During a time when environmental progress is at risk due to federal funding cuts and the nation is under a presidential administration that abets injustice, it is entirely crucial, now more than ever, that MLK’s legacy is kept alive in the same persistent manner he built it in.
DeJuan Mason, co-chair of the MLK Holiday DC Peace Rally, told The Informer that the struggle isn’t over and urges people across the world to unify and join the fight for peace.
“It’s oxymoronic that you have to say you have to fight for peace, but peace does not come easily,” she told The Informer, “and so the fight is still here. In 2026 we’re still fighting for peace.”