MLK Day

It was August 28, 1963 at the March on Washington that Martin Luther King, Jr., first said his fateful words, "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 one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
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.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together...
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 words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!'"

The powerful words that were bestowed upon the nation on that day still linger. Each year on the third Monday of January, schools, federal offices, post offices and banks across the nation close. It is said to be a time for Americans to celebrate the birth, life, and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It should be a time for the nation to remember the injustices that Dr. King fought against; a time to remember his fight for the freedom, equality and dignity of all races and peoples; a time to remember his message of change through nonviolence.

However, as time has passed and the issue of racism is no longer as prominent as it was during the Civil Rights Movement, sadly Martin Luther King, Jr., Day has fallen into the category of historical holidays without much resonance. I suppose then, that I would just urge you to reevaluate your priorities today, do something for another person, and work on being tolerant, because it's all we can do to uphold Dr. King's legacy.