Monday, January 16, 2012

Dr. King's National Holiday

What better way to celebrate the labor of a great pioneer than to reflect on all that he contributed to America and African American people. The anti-thesis of that statement would be to simply take this day off and not even consider what Dr. King has done. That would simply be a tragedy and disrespectful to his ultimate sacrifice; his life.

I would like to encourage all people of all races to take some time out of your day to reflect on what America would be like today had Dr. King not pursued justice. It was through his leadership and strategy that many of the rights we have today are available.

I took some time to talk to my middle son about the struggles of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. We talked about blacks having to drink from different water fountains. He asked, " Was the water out of the black water fountain different from the water out of the white water fountain? I told him no. The difference was the racial climate and during that time segregation was a way of life.

We discussed the Little Rock Nine, seating in restaurants, riding the public bus and other things that demonstrated to my son that things were very different than they are today. My son really grasped all of that information with wide eyes of amazement.

This morning, my wife and I talked about Dr. King with our 5 year old, Elisha. He told us that Dr. King was a black man who liked to preach. He said that Dr. King wanted to teach whites how to be good people when they played with black people. Elisha told us that some white people did not like Dr. King and wanted to kill him. He seemed to try to make a connection between then and now.

It is so important that our children have a good understanding where we have come from so that they do not repeat the things of our past. Please spend this day reflecting on how far we have come because of Dr. King and how far we must go.

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