The Beloved Community: From Civil Rights Dream to Public Health Imperative

D r Martin Luther King popularized the notion of the Beloved Community, a term first coined in the early days of the twentieth century by philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce. Dr King envisioned the Beloved Community as a society based on justice, equal opportunity, and love of one’s fellow human beings. As explained by The King Center, the memorial institution founded by Coretta Scott King to further the goals of Martin Luther King: “Dr King’s Beloved Community is a global vision in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an allinclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood.”