by Briana Albright,
LBPH Reader Advisor
On this day we commemorate Dr. King’s great dream of a vibrant, multiracial nation united in justice, peace and reconciliation; a nation that has a place at the table for children of every race and room at the inn for every needy child. We are called on this holiday, not merely to honor, but to celebrate the values of equality, tolerance and interracial sister and brotherhood he so compellingly expressed in his great dream for America.
from The Meaning of the King Holiday by Coretta Scott King
What, to you, is the meaning of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? An opportunity to reflect on the values of nonviolence? A commemoration of the man who paid the ultimate price to achieve freedom for others? Historically, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has been taken to represent a triumph over racial injustice; as articulated by New York Times blogger Chris Lebron, this represents an uncomfortable truth: “It is a triumph of acceptable minimums rather than full respect for those who continue to wait for Dr. King’s dream to become reality.” To celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in this way is a disservice – not just to Dr. King, but to the men and women of yesterday and today who have insisted on social justice, no matter the cost.
This MLK Day, I challenge you to critically analyze and interpret the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., not in the terms that others have created, but your own. Listen to his landmark speeches with A Call to Conscience (DB 62330) or his greatest sermons with A Knock at Midnight (DB 62329); learn about the history of the Civil Rights Movement with A Dream of Freedom: The Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968 (DB 60128); or read a contemporary account of racial injustice, such as The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man who Left Newark for the Ivy League (DB 80277).
Today, I challenge you to reflect, to think critically, and to question, because celebration and commemoration alone are not enough. If we hope to realize King’s great vision of a nation united in justice, peace, and reconciliation, we have work to do.
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