SubscribeMaking the dream a reality
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words, spoken nearly 50 years ago, gained new urgency for me today as I commemorated his birthday with my church family. In 1963 in a speech entitled, Strength to Love, Dr. King said:
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.”
Compared to the times in which his words were spoken, we are living in an age of comfort and convenience. The legal walls of segregation and discrimination that Dr. King and others fought so hard to bring down have crumbled. As people of color, we can go wherever we want to go and do pretty much whatever we want to do, and we have access to all the modern conveniences anyone else has. Just look at how many homes have flat screen TVs, high-end sound systems, Wiis and other electronic gadgets. Every ear seems to have a cell phone attached to it.
On the other hand, these also are challenging times for many of us individually and collectively. The nation’s economic collapse in late 2008 upended the financial security of even the wealthiest among us and sent too many people spiraling into near or complete financial ruin. Our first elected black president, Barack H. Obama, is facing new trials every day nationally and internationally. There are wars aboard and discontentment at home. President Obama continues to need our prayers.
The devastating earthquake last week that ripped through the already impovished island nation of Haiti calls each of us to action, to do something to help.
At the annual King Day observance held at Dayspring Community Church, two of our youth echoed Dr. King’s sentiment. Work remains to be done to fulfill Dr. King’s dream, both Mikal and Kendra, said in separate speeches. Two many young black men and women are involved in crime. Schools attended largely by black children still receive the short end of textbooks and supplies. More jobs are needed for people who want to work. Children want adults to help them live the dream that Dr. King so passionately desired for his own children — that they be judged “by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.”
The two middle-school orators in the making left us with a challenge: Do something to make a difference in this world of ours.
We also heard a great example of what that means from our main speaker, journalist and author Lisa Frazier Page. She told us about Carlotta Walls LaNier, the youngest of the nine students who made history by desegregating Little Rock Central High School. At 14, Carlotta was on the right side of justice, said Frazier Page, who co-authored the book with LaNier, “A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School.”
On Sept. 25, 1957, when she walked into Central High School along with her eight fellow black students, Carlotta Walls just wanted to do what it took to get a first-rate education. “I hadn’t intended anything heroic when I signed up to attend Little Rock Central High School,which was less than a mile from my home and, at the time, all white,” she wrote.
She and the other black students endured taunts, threats and insults from angry white crowds. They were ostracized by white students and treated with indifference from teachers. But she and the others persevered during those early days of the civil rights movements and gave us enduring examples of courage under fire.
More of us need to step up and answer the call, said Frazier Page.
King, Frazier Page, Mikel and Kendra have me thinking about how I can make a difference in these days of challenge and controversy.
How are you helping to fulfilled Dr. King’s dream?
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