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Honoring Dr. King’s legacy: Move forward, choose action over silence

Monday, January 19, 2026

An open letter from Ellis President & CEO Paul Milton to all our colleagues

“The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

                              - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

How can we honor Dr. King on this third Monday in January?

We can’t limit ourselves to a quote.

We shouldn’t even confine ourselves to today’s holiday.

And, I’m certain, we need to move beyond good intentions.

Dr. King challenged each of us, and the entire nation, to confront injustice when it is loud and visible—and also, when it is quiet, normalized, and uncomfortable. He reminded us that real progress requires courage, humility, and action. And the work is never done.

At Ellis Medicine, this challenge means something.

Every day, we care for people from every neighborhood, background, culture, and walk of life. We serve patients who face real barriers to care: economic hardship, language differences, transportation challenges, systemic inequities, and gaps in access that directly affect health outcomes. As a community health system, we do not get to look away from these realities. We have a responsibility to meet them head-on.

All of this points to some simple facts: There is no place for racism, bias, or exclusion in our organization or in the care we provide. Just as Americans must strive to be a more perfect union, we at Ellis must strive to be, each day, a more equitable, compassionate organization. Rooted in our core values is a commitment to treat every colleague, every patient, and every family member with dignity and respect — not as an aspirational value, but as a daily expectation.

As our nation feels particularly fractured in this moment, when rancor rules over civil discourse, when we seem to talk past each other, when so much feels out of our control—we can make a choice as individuals and as an organization about what we value, and how our actions reflect those values.

We can honor Dr. King’s legacy simply by continuing the work. Honoring that legacy means strengthening trust in communities that have historically been underserved. It means removing barriers to care. It means building a workplace where everyone feels safe, valued, and heard. And it means holding ourselves accountable — even when the work is difficult.

We are a healthcare leader — and leadership carries responsibility.

Working together, all of you can continue to make meaningful progress toward a more just, inclusive, and healthy community—inside our walls and out there in our neighborhoods.

And, not just today.

Not just for the upcoming Black History Month.

But every day.

– Paul Milton, President & CEO, Ellis Medicine
 

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