I recall hearing about the assassination of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. on the evening of April 4, 1968. In part, the news seemed
shocking. Sadly, it also seemed like the next step in an inexorable series of 1960s
killings including John F. Kennedy, civil rights workers, Malcolm X
(assassinated just a couple of miles from where I attended school), and others.
Rather than deter or stifle us, however, Dr. King’s murder motivated us all the
more to advocate for just policies and just treatment of all people; it led
many of us into careers in organizations where we could try to improve our
communities and the world.
Would Dr. King feel that we had succeeded or failed during
the past half century? Probably a mix. We have passed legislation to address
some of the blatant problems of discrimination; we’ve reduced redlining and
other institutional practices that directly limited access by people of color
to home ownership and other resources, and which indirectly contributed to
education and health care issues. Life expectancy differences between blacks
and whites have narrowed; access to higher education has increased for people
of color, along with degree completion. However, significant racial disparities
remain in education, housing, employment, and heath. We definitely have not yet
achieved the dream.
Racial disparities in the United States and other nations
constitute not just an ethical failure. They threaten to undermine our ability
to sustain democracy and make progress as a global human family.
As Dr. King stated (in one of my favorite quotes from his
speeches): “In a real sense, all life is inter-related. All men are caught in
an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” We must keep that
principle in mind, as we address local issues of education, housing, and health
care, global issues of peace, migration, and economic development, and
everything in between.
This is a day to renew our commitment to carrying the torch
Dr. King lit.
No comments:
Post a Comment