Today, the country is celebrating a true hero, a man who recognized a need to educate and advocate and a man who ultimately gave his life up to the fight for equality of all mankind. The man was Martin Luther King, Jr.
For some, yes, this day may primarily conjure up thoughts of a paid day-off from work or a get-out-of-school-free card. But, my hope is that people will take a few moments to reflect on the true purpose of this holiday. This holiday honors and recognizes the tragic battle fought by a man who wasn’t willing to falter in his idealism and optimism, even under immense scrutiny, pressure and violence committed against him, his family and those who supported his cause. Mr. King endured one violent act after another, driven by passion and faith that the world and those who lived in it were not a lost cause. He believed that change was not only possible, but imminent, when fought for with courage, grace and a peace granted by God’s love.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. And his dream was to one day see a nation that celebrated color rather than feared it. We certainly have a long way to go to reach that Utopia, when people are judged on the basis of their character and not on the color of their skin. But we have most definitely come a long way. And under the direction of the late Martin Luther King Jr. I believe we will, in time, peacefully reach that evolution.
I will leave you with one of my favorite passages from Mr. King’s infamous “I Have A Dream” speech, delivered during the March on Washington from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963.
“Let freedom ring. And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the worlds of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last, free at last
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
In equality, Mindy
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Mindy
Great post! Thanks for the reminders!
I wish more people would remember the words from his speech every day. Although I’m not sure peace on earth is something this world will ever completely achieve.
Well said. I would love to hear what he would say about how far we have come and where we should go from here. Thank you for this post.
I believe he was a great man, no matter what color his skin was. What color was it anyways? People are just people.
I wish we were further along, but we’ll eventually get there. I hope. Great post!
I can’t wait until that day. What a world it will be. Great post Mindy!
I heard a song once – none of us are free, if one of is chained. It reminded me of this speech that you referenced here. He was a man with a great vision for our country. I hope we can live up to that!