MLK Jr.: ‘The time is always ripe to do right’

Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Seattle once, from Nov. 8 to Nov. 11, 1961. King was 32 at the time and had yet to deliver his iconic address during the March on Washington or write his powerful Letter from Birmingham Jail. Accounts from his time in King County, King’s “The American Dream” speech at Garfield High School includes lines that he would use two years later in his “I Have a Dream” speech.

King also delivered some of his most powerful calls to action to Seattle audiences. The Seattle Times reported King saying, “There is a strange illusion that time will solve problems… The time is always ripe to do right.”

At King County we work to advance social justice and undo racism and all forms of oppression. We will continue to invest where needs are greatest, address the climate crisis, and focus on providing mobility options that will better quality of life in King County and beyond. This requires sharing power and building trust with communities that have been underserved. Mobility is a human right.

We have pride in the work we are doing at Metro—and the work we aspire to do. It’s not an easy path, but we will persevere to do right for our communities, the environment, and future generations to come.