Building on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of the “Beloved Community,” Habitat for Humanity announced plans today to honor King’s legacy through a series of projects across the nation in 2018. Over the next year, in partnership with The King Center’s MLK 50 Forward initiative, Habitat is renewing and strengthening its commitment to build a world where everyone has a decent place to live and the opportunity for a better future.

“In 2018, as we mark the 50th anniversaries of Dr. King’s tragic death and the passage of the Fair Housing Act, we renew our pledge to make the concept of a Beloved Community a reality,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “This will never be a world of equality, of fairness, of human decency that leaves no room for poverty or prejudice or violence, unless we build it. And so we build.”

This year, in rising to meet The King Center’s MLK 50 Forward challenge to undertake 50 acts of kindness and service, local Habitat organizations across the country are undertaking Beloved Community projects in their cities, including the construction of new affordable homes, critical home repairs and neighborhood revitalization initiatives.

Habitat leaders in more than 15 communities, including Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Charlotte, N.C; Chicago; Denver; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tenn.; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.; New York City; Oakland, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; and Raleigh, N.C., have already committed to Beloved Community projects, and more will be announced throughout the year.

“With every new home that Habitat for Humanity builds, we move one step closer to my father’s vision of the Beloved Community,” said Dr. Bernice A. King. “Since its founding, Habitat for Humanity has been lifting families up through God’s love and showing them the path to take control of their lives through homeownership. This year, we’re going to have an even more powerful voice for those families and future homeowners so that one day, everyone lives in the Beloved Community with agape love.”

Habitat for Humanity invites others to join in pledging to help build the Beloved Community. Read more about why Habitat is propelling this cause in an essay by Jonathan Reckford and Tjada McKenna, Chief Operating Officer. Visit habitat.org/takethepledge to learn more and follow #BelovedCommunity to join the conversation.