MLK Day

I'm not old enough to say I remember Martin Luther King, Jr. or that I traveled on some great adventure to hear him speak. Still, I am old enough to know something more about the man than the mere fact that he had a dream. I do worry that as our society ages that that is all we will know.
Oh yeah, MLK, he was that really famous black man who had that "I have a dream" speech waaaay back in the 1960s, I think.
Ok. Good. Now, what was his dream? And how did he try to achieve it? Would you do the same?

I wonder what he would think about the progress of his dream? Are we judged on the content of our character and not the color of our skin? No. I don't think we are there yet, but I do believe we are closer. While I wasn't around when we were divided by drinking fountains, diner counters, and bus seats, I do remember being told about it and not really believing it. My dear 72-year-old mom loved to give me history lessons in the form of personal narratives. Growing up in the south, she told of listening to war reports around the family radio and remembering the day JKF was shot and what she was doing. When she described the life of segregation, I almost didn't believe her. As a child, I just couldn't wrap my head around the idea that the color of your skin determined which restroom you could use or what school you could attend. What did she mean that they had signs that said "Colored" above the drinking fountains? It all just sounded insane to me. Stories of the existence of the KKK and the idea that men dressed in white sheets, lit crosses on fire, and harassed and killed people scared the bujeebees out of me. I hated their hatred. Just imagine if we as a country didn't have the courage to change.

We are now at a point where interracial marriage with biracial children is common. One of the wealthiest people in our country is an African American woman with enormous power. Our top athletes and many of our most popular entertainers tend to be people of color, as do some of those who now occupy top government positions. In fact, as we all know, the highest office in the land is up for grabs, and an African American has a true opportunity to win it. I will be honest and say that I haven't chosen my candidate yet, but I am excited that my 3 brown children have a realistic chance of seeing someone besides an old white man in the White House sometime during their lifetime.

What would MLK think of all this? What would he think of two light-peach colored people raising 3 children of varying shades of beigey-brown? What would he think of a biracial man legitimately vying for the presidency of The United States of America? What would he think of New Orleans and Jena? Racial profiling and rap music? Oprah? Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols? The Muslims, Christians, Jews of today? I think he would love much of what we have done, but I think he would also continue to dream for all God's children.