Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King envisioned a time where people would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. We have fulfilled Dr. King’s vision, though not everyone would admit it. Barack Obama won the White House based not upon the color of his skin, but on what he stood for and who he was individually.
Though no longer required by minorities and women to get a job or be admitted to graduate school, Affirmative Action, a needed program back in the 1970s, had its proper place in that era. Like Barack Obama’s White House run, few people even see these things any more, and they aren’t even a consideration for graduate school admission or employment.
The race scapegoat casts blame on various things in the name of race when in fact they aren’t racial at all. Civil Right Leaders go around stirring up trouble and riling up crowds where race has little to do with what is going on. We don’t need a national strategy like Dr. King’s marches or a new Civil Rights Act since the courts handles these matters individually.
Many young people today don’t know about Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the pain that African-Americans suffered during this time in order to win these rights. Today’s rap generation remains unaware of those who were beaten with billy clubs or sprayed down with fire hoses. They call their buddies the N word but none of them know what it really means.
We don’t need more civil rights, but rather an acceptance of the fulfillment of Dr. King’s dream. Sure, there will also be problems, and there will always be those who are attracted to the white supremacist philosophy, but the Obama presidency signals a new beginning, not just of electing an African-American to the White House, but of seeing people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Dr. King would be proud.
Comments