Stevie Wonder on Monday posted an emotional open letter to Martin Luther King Jr. in which he said he was using the holiday to call on the Biden-Harris administration to launch a truth commission on inequality in America.
In the video, which is a bit more than four minutes long, the iconic singer reminisces about meeting the late King when he was 14, calling the civil rights leader a “true hero and inspiration.”
It was that inspiration Wonder says helped him to “push the needle of love and equality forward” through his music. “It is painful to know that needle has not moved one iota,” Wonder says. “You would not believe the lack of progress. It makes me physically sick.
“I am sick that truth is struggling to be heard and defended. Those who promote lies and false truth must be held accountable,” Wonder continues. “It is the only way we can move forward.”
Wonder then asks for the Biden-Harris administration to launch a formal investigation to “establish the truth of inequality in this country” and recommend conciliation.
“Without truth, we cannot have accountability,” Wonder says. “Without accountability, we cannot have forgiveness. Without forgiveness, we cannot heal.”
Wonder closes with, “On this day, a day in your honor, I pledge to have the courage to say what I see and acknowledge what I hear. In your spirit, I call on all those in the Senate to speak truth to what they know — they can physically see — and begin the steps of accountability, forgiveness and then healing.”
— Stevie Wonder (@StevieWonder) January 18, 2021
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