Days like today seem... simple. Some will go to events honoring a man they teach very little about, both in the schools and in the home. Some will take this liberty just to be off work or out of school with no inkling of understanding of what prompted the establishment of this holiday. And, yet, others will use this as an opportunity to further causes that are effectively destructive to the spirit of the day.
Some 55 years after the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom some are still crying for freedom... from something. Economic inequality, social injustice, the right to choose, the right to break the law, freedom of speech, etc. Most want to break the will of another human by force. This rarely occurs. As the saying goes, "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still."
The very synopsis of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's speech, which was actually titled "Normalcy, Never Again" was, in and of itself, not just about a dream. But it embodied the spirit of forgiveness. It appealed to faith in God and man. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's words did not excuse the injustices to the Black American. He emphatically brought all things to the forefront. However, his speech was an inspiration to change the hearts of Americans, which then would change the minds of Americans.
We speak these things to both honor and dishonor. In a day and time when there is, literally, free education, online school to make getting an education even more convenient, and more jobs and opportunity than has ever existed in the entire world, we must take advantage of the sacrifices of those that have come before us. The rise of Blacks holding top positions in large companies, or starting successful businesses is the result of the sacrifices of Dr. King, his contemporaries, and those willing to pave a way for themselves and others.
There can be no more excuses of an overall conspiracy to stop you in your endeavors. That lie doesn't exist anymore. There will always be people who don't like you. Of your own race. Of your own gender. Of your own neighborhood.
They go to your school. They're on your job. They may be in your own family. That will always hold true because you cannot dictate the emotions of a person.
However, you can educate yourself and them. You can have a dream. You can share a dream, and you can inspire others to not embody hatred, but engulf love.
Today has to be a celebration of the opportunity to not be bound by the evils of the past, but envelope the hope of the future that you can create for yourself and others. Celebrate the fact that through others sacrifice we can now, not just march, but rise economically, educationally, socially, and politically.
References:
Notes
1. https://www.crmvet.org/tim/tim63b.htm#1963mow
2. https://www.blackenterprise.com/discover-black-enterprises-300-most-powerful-executives-in-corporate-america/
3. Barack Obama - https://www.ebony.com/news/on-this-day-barack-obama-is-elected-americas-first-black-president/