Today we celebrate the birthday of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We all know the story of Dr. King, or at least we should. We know he was a minister, a pioneer for civil rights, a husband and father. Remember, he gave that memorable speech. You know the one where he talks about having a “dream” in front of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Some of us were not born at that time, but we have heard the speech or even seen it replayed on our televisions. We also heard the stories of his assassination in April of 1968 and the riots that followed. He was taken away too soon like another famous American in our history, President John F. Kennedy.

Today, we must continue to work on keeping his hopes and dreams alive. His visions for equal rights were not just for African Americans. They were for people of all races, young and the old. He wanted our children, no matter what color, to be able to play, laugh and learn together. He wanted men and women of all races to earn equal pay if they performed the same job and worked the same amount of hours. He wanted economic justice for the poor and disadvantaged no matter the color of their skin. He was a man of peace and love.

I believe if Dr. King was here today, he would be encouraged by how much has been accomplished. Our children are educated together and happily play side by side. Minorities, male and female are earning their rightful salaries. We have hundreds of programs and agency’s working to help the poor and less fortunate get back on their feet instead of just giving them enough to survive. We have seen our first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice and our first African American President of the United States.

He would be proud. We should be proud. After all, his dreams were meant for everyone.

Tags: Community Involvement / kudos
11:47 am, January 18th, 2010 |