GIVING HONOR TO THE DREAMER

Had he lived to see January 15th, 2014 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been 85 years-old. He would have witnessed the death of his eldest daughter, Yolanda, and the birth of his only grandchild, Yolanda Renee. He would have no doubt been very proud of his son, Martin III, who rose through the ranks of civil rights leadership to lead the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization that Dr. King helped to organize in 1957. He would have been equally proud of his youngest daughter, Bernice, who followed his lead, and became a Baptist preacher.

Yet while God did not give Dr. King a long life. He blessed him with an impactful one whose legacy still endures some 46 years after an assassin’s bullet killed him on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee where he was leading demonstrations designed to improve the living conditions of municipal sanitation workers.

While intellectually brilliant, Dr. King was a simple man. During the 39 brief years that he was with us he did not use his power or his notoriety to amass a personal fortune. His entire being was devoted to service. His once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is what you are doing for others?” Dr. King was concerned with the state of the human condition.

His messages of love, non-violence and forgiveness resonated with people all across the globe. His words touched the hearts of millions of people who never knew him, or had the opportunity to speak with him. He helped not only to change a nation, but an entire world.

And in January as we celebrate Dr. King’s birth, let us reflect on his work. Let us re-commit ourselves and our nation to serving one another. Let us remember the elderly, the infirmed, the mentally challenged, those who are without jobs and those who struggle daily to feed their families. Let’s us not only talk about the problems, but let us do something about them.

It is the least that we can do for Dr. King, a servant sent by God to embrace us and our frailties. While alive he did all that he could to improve the human condition. In fact, he paid the ultimate sacrifice for his beliefs and deeds.

If Dr. King were alive today he would be on the frontlines in the battle for income equality. He would be fighting any attempt to hinder the progress that the country has made in the areas of voting rights, and the rights of minorities.

He would be an advocate, I believe, for immigration reform, and he would be an ardent foe of the growing gap between the wealthy in this country and those who battle each day to provide for themselves and their families.

Now it is our time to repay him for loving us as he did. We must honor the dreamer by becoming more dedicated and able servants. It is the best birthday present that we could ever give Dr. King. We owe him as much and more!