Livingston Comes Together For MLK Day Of Service: 'It Can't Be Us Vs. Them'

LIVINGSTON, NJ — A day of service was recently held in Livingston to honor the enduring legacy of one of the nation’s most iconic civil rights leaders: Martin Luther King Jr.

The Livingston Committee for Diversity & Inclusion commemorated King’s legacy with a day of service on Monday. This year’s effort included 22 service projects and nearly 400 neighbors who volunteered.

Livingston Mayor Shawn Klein was among those who supported the 2026 day of service. His remarks from the event follow below:

"Here in Livingston, we have a long history of celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr Day as a 'day on.'

"I am speaking on behalf of the entire Town Council when I say thanks so much to Andrew Miller, Harsh Raju, Alyse Heilpern and Rose Registre - all who worked so hard to make today happen. And thanks to all of the incredible groups involved as well - Livingston’s altruistic All-Stars. We have so many inspirational volunteers in town who are unbelievably committed to their good deeds and their charitable organizations, day in and day out.

"One of Martin Luther King Jr’s most famous quotes is: 'The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.' That may be the view of the arc’s curvature from 30,000 feet. But if we zoom in on that graph, we will see episodes of sharp upturns and downturns. And it sure feels like we are living in one of those downturns just now. As all of us here know, King’s declaration on the shape of that arc, must be understood not as a passive observation or an idle hope, but rather as a call to action.

"Hate is surging, we see racism and antisemitism exploding, fueled by social media algorithms that reward conflict and outrage. Many are being left behind as wealth is getting more and more concentrated. We now have essentially masked, secret armies, prowling our cities. Distrust and aggression is prevalent.

"So what can we do? Everyone here is doing it. Take a look around you. Each of our own worlds is comprised of the people who we are surrounded by. We can do the daily work of helping our neighbor, of reaching out to those who are different than us, of finding ways to be human together.

"In 2008, President Obama quoted King when he accepted his party’s nomination. He said: 'We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.'

"As part of the long tradition of Black and Jewish partnership, on Jan. 17, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. came to my synagogue, Temple B’nai Abraham, when it was located in Newark. He was invited by his close ally, Rabbi Joachim Prinz. Current clergy member Rabbi Max Edwards at B’nai Abraham just recently became aware of an incredible audio recording of King’s speech which he forwarded to me. King’s speech was met with rapturous applause. He said: 'We must learn to live together as brothers or we will all perish together as fools.'

"If I can paraphrase: it cannot be 'Us vs, Them,' it has to be 'We.'

"In troubling times, this needs to be our North Star. We must look to those around us, reach out to them, talk to them, try to understand them, and build trust with them. That is the only way out, it is the only way forward."

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