Fifty-two years after he was slain, Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy of social justice, equality, and human dignity is well and alive in the San Diego region.

We are joining thousands of residents, civic leaders and civil rights advocates at a series of community events to pay tribute to King’s legacy and honor those who carry it on.

Our company is helping to sponsor two MLK events today: the United African American Ministerial Action Council’s 25th Annual Martin Luther King Breakfast Celebration and Alliance San Diego’s 32nd Annual All Peoples Celebration.

On Friday, our employees joined about 1,700 people to pay tribute to the slain civil rights leader and honor community heroes at the 35th Annual Jackie Robinson Family YMCA Martin Luther King Jr. Human Dignity Award Breakfast. Congratulations to Dee Sanford, recipient of this year’s Human Dignity Award! Sanford has proudly served on the board of the Jackie Robinson Y for more than 30 years and has been chair of the MLK breakfast since 1999.

To learn more about her contributions to the community, check out this San Diego Union-Tribune article.

Embracing diversity and inclusion

Diversity and inclusion have long been core values at SDG&E and our parent company, Sempra Energy for many years. Sempra Energy has been recognized with numerous awards for its commitment to advance an inclusive workplace. In 2019, Sempra Energy was named to Forbes' list of the "Best Employers for Diversity 2019" and also to the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, which highlights companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women's equality.

Our company’s commitment to diversity extends beyond our employee ranks to our suppliers. In 2018, SDG&E set a company record of $722 million with diverse businesses, representing 43.9 percent of all goods and services we relied on.

Why do we care about diversity and inclusion so much? Because we believe an open and inclusive culture is fundamental to the success of our community, our company and our economy.