Martin Luther King Jr. understood a fundamental truth about America: Our nation was built on founding ideals that inspire us to serve one another with justice and integrity. As King told an overflowing congregation in Memphis just two weeks before his assassination, “All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”
Few callings reflect that truth more clearly than American agriculture.
Across our country, farmers, ranchers, and agricultural workers rise before dawn and press on through uncertainty to do work that sustains life itself. They steward the land, care for animals, manage risk, and persevere through droughts, floods, and market swings so their fellow Americans can eat, thrive, and live with security.
This is labor that uplifts humanity, carried out with discipline, responsibility, and excellence.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we honor King by striving to live out his righteous vision “that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits.” This vision was rooted in his courageous call for individuals to be judged by the content of their character, not by the color of their skin.
At the U.S. Department of Agriculture, we apply this approach to all that we do. Americans deserve service based on need, character, and merit — without regard to race or color. Whether we are administering food assistance programs, supporting farmers recovering from disaster, investing in conservation, or strengthening rural communities, our focus remains consistent: excellent service delivered with fairness and integrity.
Faith communities have long embodied this calling. Across America, USDA partners with faith-based organizations that serve neighbors in need — without regard to background, belief, or circumstance. These partnerships reflect a shared understanding that service, rooted in compassion and responsibility, strengthens both communities and the country.
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As America approaches its 250th anniversary, we are reminded that our founding ideals endure only when citizens commit to living them out. That is precisely what the Civil Rights Movement strives to do. Agriculture is part of that same story — grounded in equality, independence, hard work, and service to others.
Although King’s life was cut short over five decades ago, his vision for a fair and free America shines brighter today than ever before. The Trump administration is committed to advancing equal treatment under the law, and we will continue to march forth and let freedom ring across this great nation.
Brooke L. Rollins is the U.S. secretary of agriculture. Alveda King is a senior adviser on faith and community outreach at the Department of Agriculture. Devon Westhill is assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Agriculture.