Remembering George Floyd in Houston where he grew up.

Today, George Floyd will be remembered by family, friends, and dignitaries at a private funeral service in Houston where the IACC South Central office is located.

Please see this biography of Mr. Floyd published today by the New York Times.

To honor Mr. Floyd on a day when Houston mourns the loss of one of its own, we would like to share this quote from a commencement speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in June, 1965:

Let nobody give you the impression that the problem of racial injustice will work itself out. Let nobody give you the impression that only time will solve the problem. That is a myth, and it is a myth because time is neutral. It can be used either constructively or destructively. And I’m absolutely convinced that the people of ill will in our nation – the extreme rightists – the forces committed to negative ends – have used time much more effectively than the people of good will. It may well be that we will have to repent in this generation, not merely for the vitriolic works and violent actions of the bad people who bomb a church in Birmingham, Alabama, or shoot down a civil rights worker in Selma, but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people who sit around and say, “Wait on time.” Somewhere we must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals. Without this hard work, time becomes an ally of the primitive forces of social stagnation. So we must help time and realize that the time is always right to do right.

The IACC South Central has always been devoted to promoting diversity and we consider ourselves fortunate to live in “the most diverse place in America” (Los Angeles Times, May 9, 2017).

As Dr. King said 55 years ago, the time is always right to do right. Here at the IACC South Central, we are committed to making our community a better place to live and work through respect, compassion, and dignity for everyone.

Our heartfelt condolences go out to Mr. Floyd and his family.

Photo by Lorie Shaull (Flickr Creative Commons).