Happy Birthday, Dr. King

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday on January 15th is recognized in the United States as a federal holiday. Dr. King is renowned and revered for his leadership in seeking equal rights for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. 

Photo: nobelprize.org

The day before we he was assassinated, King gave a speech known as the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech. In it, King said:

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop... And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!" (https://youtu.be/Oehry1JC9Rk)

Photo: americanrhetoric.com

As a people, we have not yet reached the promised land. We made great strides during the Civil Rights Movement thanks to Dr. King, John Lewis, Ralph Abernathy and many others. But as we saw this past year, African Americans are targets of police brutality, they are more likely to be jailed than whites and, despite the fact that our President is African American, our politics are dominated by older white men. 

Photos: washingtonpost.com 

However, there is hope. Every year, on Dr. King's birthday, elementary school students from Washington, DC gather on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to recite Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech that he gave in 1963 for the March on Washington. These children will work to achieve Dr. King's dream. It is these children, and others, who will help the nation make it to the promised land.