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January 15, 2007
All People, Everywhere
Unlike a non-essential government employee's, my Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is filled with the usual Monday-ness, but I feel that it's worth at least a pause here at the blog to remember the man.
I was born just months after his assassination, so my whole life has been lived in the shadow of that terrible day (sorry for the melodrama — it's for effect).
Luckily for me, my parents made a point of teaching the principles Dr King espoused, long before there was a federal or state holiday to honor his legacy. This was done even while many around us decried the establishment of "a holiday for the Blacks."
The latter sentiment, sadly, has not been eradicated — well, at least it hadn't a few years back, when I departed from my norm and actually asked someone out on a date. We were at the Chattanooga Symphony, and a Roland Carter première was on the program in honor of the MLK commemoration. This girl leaned over to me and shocked me with some comment about it being enough that "they" get "their own" special day, and that this musical dedication was over the top.
Needless to say, after I expressed my disagreement with her comment, I only said perfunctory words to this woman for the rest of the evening, and never saw her again. I can only hope that she has learned something in the intervening years.
I can also thank my lucky stars that I found my beautiful wife, who shares my admiration for civil rights/social justice leaders and the goals to which they aspire, for all of us.
Politics is Personal | By joe lance | 06:12 PM