The 17th of January 2022 is the day this year on which Martin Luther King Day is commemorated across the United States. It is a nationwide public holiday in the USA adopted into the calendar of public holidays after King’s tragic assassination in 1968.

In many ways, Martin Luther King Junior personified the mobiliation of black efforts and consciousness in order to demand equal rights for all persons regardless of their skin color or their ethnic origins. He devoted his adult life to addressing the manifest racial divisions between Black and White in the USA and was an unequivocal advocate of peaceful protest in the striving to eliminate racial discrimination.

King was able, through the undeniable force of his powerful oratory, to bring home to many across the globe the stark inequities endured daily by African Americans. His stirring words transcended the boundaries of his own country and resonated with other people of color who were downtrodden or suffered oppression across the globe. But he recognized, sadly of course, that he and his colleagues were on a journey and were almost certainly never to arrive at a destination where discrimination was simply a thing of the past. As he said in one of his memorable quotes: “We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope”.

On this day, we at Symmetra consider it fitting and proper that we all pause to ponder the noble ideals that King stood for.

We are proud to work with many cutting-edge global organisations who take these precepts to heart, not only one day but every day, as they work to create diverse and inclusive workplaces where everyone, regardless of race or color can bring their entire selves to work and can be safe and comfortable in doing so.