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Last week, we saw various recounts of the anniversary of the Jan 6th Insurrection in the Capital. This week, we celebrate the birthday and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful march on Washington, D.C., with 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, “l Have a Dream.” King led marches for the right to vote, desegregation, labor rights, and civil rights.
King said, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’…I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
We have not reached the manifestation of many points of King’s dream. However, we were well on the way as Biden appointed more Black women judges than any other administration. We have seen many corporations being led by African Americans, and of course, we have had our first Black President and now the first Black woman vice president. We can imagine what King would say about the forced resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay. I cannot imagine the words he would use to begin to address the promises of Donald Trump and the Republicans to undue within a couple of years, what many have marched and died for over decades. I cannot imagine what King would say about the insurrection held on January 6th. King is not here to give us some thought-provoking speeches about the threat to Democracy. He is not here to inspire people in this nation to speak up, stand up, and vote for Democracy. It is up to each of us to dare to “Dream,” and find the strength of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. within us.
In 1964, at the age of 35, King was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality, and he turned over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement. In his later years, he expanded his focus to include the fight against poverty, capitalism, and the Vietnam War. He was assassinated on April 4th in Memphis, Tn. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a holiday throughout the United States beginning in 1971; the holiday was enacted at the federal level by legislation signed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. Each year, the day honors his many legislative gains through dedication and hard work, and his promotion of peace and kindness.
Photo source:
Queens Public Library
