Honoring the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 13, 2023
Dear Colleagues,
On Monday, January 16, we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose steadfast commitment to equity and justice continues to transform the world. Among the bedrock values that defined Dr. King’s life was his belief in the power of service.
"Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'"
This question is even more important now than when Dr. King posed it more than 60 years ago. During his life, Dr. King devoted himself to creating “the Beloved Community”: a world where everyone is cared for, absent of poverty, hunger, and hate. In doing so, he showed us the path to a society that embraces empathy, compassion, health, and well-being.
Penn Medicine shares Dr. King’s dedication to service, the power of community, and the goal of a healthier world for all people. As both an institution and the people who comprise it, we continue to make strides to realize our mission of inclusivity, diversity, and equity in everything we do. Our lessons learned during the COVID pandemic evidenced marked inequities, creating a blueprint for the amplification of strategies to strengthen our bridge to a more equitable organization and delivery of care.
At the core of our mission areas is our promise to provide outstanding patient care, strengthen the quality of education, and produce innovative research by fostering a vibrant, inclusive environment that fully embraces diversity. Our Service in Action work caring for communities outside the walls of our organization and our year of an educational focus on Cultural Humility are examples of opportunities to engage and learn. Moreover, the expansive reach of Action for Cultural Transformation (ACT) has enhanced the promotion of a more diverse workforce. We have made a measurable impact advancing health equity goals in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality complications and increasing the number of screenings for colon cancer continues to sustain efforts to transform our culture. Our commitment to upholding the core values of respect, cultural humility, empathy, equity, and accountability has never been greater.
On this MLK Day, the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities, we invite and encourage you to give back to your community in whatever way is most meaningful for you.
Here you can find a list of events and activities for the university’s 2023 Commemorative Symposium on Social Change, which includes events on campus and service projects within Philadelphia and around our region. We hope you can join us for Penn Medicine’s Martin Luther King Jr. Health Equity Symposium featuring Perelman School of Medicine alumna Dr. Joneigh S. Khaldun as this year's keynote speaker.
Your efforts to improve our neighborhoods, our communities, and our world honor and affirm Dr. King’s life and legacy; together, we make good on our promise to our community, our patients, our colleagues, and ourselves.
Sincerely,
J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD Kevin B. Mahoney
EVP/Dean CEO, UPHS