It’s a weird thing to say “Happy” Martin Luther King, Jr. Day because it’s not a happy day in the same sense as, say, a “Happy New Year” or a “Happy Independence Day.”

If you don’t happen to be among those who feel a personal connection to this holiday and the man it is meant to honor, permit me to share the following, written by the late Coretta Scott King and posted to The King Center web site:

We call you to commemorate this Holiday by making your personal commitment to serve humanity with the vibrant spirit of unconditional love that was his greatest strength, and which empowered all of the great victories of his leadership. And with our hearts open to this spirit of unconditional love, we can indeed achieve the Beloved Community of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream.

May we who follow Martin now pledge to serve humanity, promote his teachings and carry forward his legacy into the 21st Century.

If nothing else, I invite you to reflect (as I do every year) on what courage and generosity of spirit and intelligence and justice, combined with action, can accomplish.

This week’s microbusiness news is slightly truncated; not much is going to be happening in Washington until after the State of the Union address. Not to mention the number of people who are twitching about Massachusetts right now.

So, we have an assessment of microfinance and how it has performed as a source of small business capital throughout the crisis. There’s also the White House talking about what a good job they did last year, because nobody in Washington is shy about tooting their own horns.

And of course, this week’s Policy Matters column.

For more information:

• White House Blog: Where we’ve been, where we are, where we’re headed
• MicroTest 2009 Report Summary
• Boston Globe: The end of the office … and the future of work

 

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