These MLK Day Tweets Highlight Why His Words Are Still So Relevant Today

America was founded on the radical notion of equality for everyone — and MLK dedicated his life to making the country fulfill that promise.

MLK wasn't a hero because he went with the tide — he was a a hero because he went against it. It's necessary — and difficult — to remember that the people truly carrying on his legacy today are the controversial ones fighting for unachieved goals.

King recognized that not everyone could fight the same fight. Instead, the important thing was to do what you could. This message is relevant today, anywhere that there is still injustice and oppression to be thrown off.

MLK's daughter Bernice raised her voice back in February 2017, when Senate Republicans stopped Elizabeth Warren from reading a letter of Coretta Scott King's. Today, she's using her platform on behalf of her father's legacy.

Things are pretty tense in the U.S. right now — but 1968, the year of MLK's assassination, was still worse. If you're feeling some stress about the direction of the country, remember that progress comes in waves, and that it's recovered from serious divides in the past.

MLK was full of new and radical ideas, including his form of nonviolent resistance to oppression. Why not use the holiday honoring him to think of more? Making Election Day a holiday would allow everyone to exercise their democratic responsibility and right, which would be an excellent step towards making the country more equal.

You know the title of the speech — but do you remember the context? It's always worth watching and listening to again.

For some, this day is a reminder that the country has a president who has expressed openly racist ideas — and a party backing him that has put up remarkably little resistance to that.

Trump hasn't shied away from violent tweets, including anti-Muslim retweets and threats of nuclear war. In this painting, an artist points out fittingly that this sort of behavior goes against everything that MLK represents.

Racism and war are still very much present in the world — but so are the people working to end them.

MLK Day wasn't confirmed as a national holiday until 1983 — and there are still some working Congresspeople who remember both its introduction and its confirmation. Not all of them, unfortunately, supported it.

Sometimes it can be difficult to recognize the best aspects of yourself — but it doesn't always take hue shows of heroism to follow in Martin Luther King, Jr.'s footsteps.

MLK's words about love have been repeated enough times to almost become cliched, but sometimes they still deserve another reflection.

This quote is particularly relevant today, as the administration referenced in the cartoon above has made unprecedented efforts to remain ignorant about science and scholarship on numerous subjects. We can also safely assume that MLK wouldn't have been crazy about a new border wall.

This final MLK quote really boils things down for those who want to take his message into their own lives — how are you helping people? And, again — no grand gestures are required.

Today is the day when we honor Martin Luther King, Jr., remember his achievements, and remind ourselves of what he fought for. However, that doesn't mean that we can't bring his legacy into our everyday lives, and continue fighting oppression wherever it exists.