On Monday we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the values he dedicated his life to achieving – a world that provided access, equality and opportunity for all. Dr. King called this world “the Beloved Community.”
Our mission statement is “Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope.”
Habitat was founded by the vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. We devote ourselves to creating this world because we believe everyone — regardless of who we are or where we come from — deserves a decent, affordable home and the opportunity for a better future.
And because we believe, we build. One house at a time, for one family at a time. Through housing, our families build financial stability, self-reliance, community and a better life for the next generation. When we build houses, we also build bridges between people of diverse backgrounds, and paths to more connected communities.
Dr. King’s vision of Beloved Community is fair, just and built on love. Dr. King said, “the love of God operating in the human heart.”
These two photos are from the Habitat for Humanity International collection at the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia. View more at: Preserving our past, building our future | Habitat for Humanity
Habitat grew out of Koinonia Farm, an interracial community farm in South Georgia founded in 1942 by Clarence Jordan. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Clarence and his fellow Koinonia residents were fiercely committed to the equality of all people and utterly devoted to creating opportunity for all.
Born from that vision, we have grown into a global organization that has worked hard to live out that kind of love for more than 40 years. In the 1950s, Dr. King wrote to Clarence, noting the struggles that Koinonia faced from hostile and unwelcoming neighbors.
“I hope that you will gain some consolation from the fact that in your struggle for freedom and a true Christian community you have cosmic companionship. God grant that this tragic midnight of man’s inhumanity to man will soon pass and the bright daybreak of freedom and brotherhood will come into being.”
Dr. King showed us the way. Let’s keep building, together, one house at a time.