By: Ben Crump, special to NNPA

We honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. each January with speeches, service projects, and by
reciting powerful quotes we know by heart. But too many Black families will spend much of MLK Day the same way they spend most Mondays.

With the gas tank hovering near empty, hoping the car can go until the next paycheck arrives. With a prescription waiting at the pharmacy counter because they cannot afford the cost. With a paycheck that has to stretch further than what seems possible. Dr. King understood that true dignity means being able to afford and build a good life. In one of his clearest reminders, he asked what it means to “eat at an integrated lunch counter” if you cannot “buy a hamburger and a cup of coffee.”

That question still carries weight for many. Personal freedom will not be achieved without financial freedom. Dr. King spent the final chapter of his life pushing the country to face economic injustice. The day before he was tragically assassinated, Dr. King stood with sanitation workers in Memphis to call for economic equality. He helped launch the Poor People’s Campaign because he knew freedom hollowed out by poverty is not freedom at all. Dr. King kept pushing America to match its promises with practical pathways.
That is the part of his legacy we should sit with this MLK Day.

This work has never been more important or needed. The cost of groceries, rent, and childcare has become an increased burden. And many families go from stable to scrambling with just one unexpected expense. These realities are on display in a recent national survey commissioned by DreamFi, echoing what so many families already feel so deeply. More than one in four respondents told us they used check-cashing services in the past year. This finding makes it clear that too many households still need simpler and more accessible options for moving money.

The survey also shows how unexpected expenses impact families. Only 41% of Black respondents said they could cover a $1,000 emergency, compared with 56% of white respondents. When a tire blows out, when a child gets sick, when hours get cut, the question is not theoretical. The question is immediate, and the impact is real. We must shine a light on this struggle and work to equip families with tools to build better futures. We must recognize Dr. King’s wisdom and acknowledge that financial stability is a civil
rights issue, because financial instability limits the ability to have choices.

The survey also found hope that can guide how we move forward. Black families are not turning away from the idea of building stability. In fact, they are reaching for it. In the survey, 79% of Black respondents said they sought out financial education in the past six months. Ours is a community hungry for tools and a fair shot at creating a better tomorrow.

So what does it mean to honor Dr. King right now? It means we get practical.

It means we expand access to clear, trustworthy financial education that respects people’s time and speaks to real solutions. It means we support savings pathways that help families prepare for emergencies before emergencies arrive. It means we encourage options that make routine transactions easier and less costly, so a family is not paying extra simply to manage their own money.

Most of all, it means we stop treating financial instability as normal. Because normal is not the same as acceptable.

Dr. King asked America to make its promises real. The best way to honor him now is to provide opportunities for everyone to achieve Dr. King’s dream.

Ben Crump is a nationally renowned civil rights attorney and founder of Ben Crump Law. Known as “Black America’s attorney general,” he has represented families in some of the most high-profile civil rights cases of our time, including those of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tyre Nichols, and Ahmaud Arbery. He is also co-founder of DreamFi, a financial empowerment platform focused on helping everyday people build stability through practical resources.