Remembering Dr. King

When I was a boy, my mother told me that my Junior High School was once called Eastside High School. Eastside High had been the all black high school in Bennettsville, South Carolina during the days of racial segregation. 

I couldn't imagine being subjected to such a practice! I attended school with my friend Billy, who was white. Who would I have lunch with?  One day, while learning about the Civil Rights Movement in class, it dawned on me that it had only been twenty two years since segregation had ended.  A generation ago, Billy and I would probably have not been friends.  Life would have been quite different.

Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a driving force in the American Civil Rights Movement.  Using civil disobedience and his brilliant oratory skills, he became a leading figure in the nation’s struggle for equality. His iconic “I Have a Dream” address was delivered to 250,000 gatherers and is a lasting inspiration. He remains the youngest male recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, granted in 1964, and is a role model to countless individuals who strive to make the world a better place.

He was one of the leaders whose efforts inspired the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was designed to bring an end to discrimination in the United States, and protect the rights of all Americans.  Jim Crow’s segregation policies were abolished. In the years to come, black children (like me) would receive the same education in the same classrooms as white children.

My friend Jermaine says he gets to live Dr. King’s dream each day. He is a highly educated teacher and department chair in a racially diverse school district where he is respected for his professionalism and talent. He also happens to be African American.    Things certainly have come a long way since Eastside High School.

Yet, almost fifty years later, our society still has wounds to heal and behaviors to unlearn.  We are almost free, at last.

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968.  He left behind a legacy of hope.

Thank you, Dr. King, for working so tirelessly toward equality in a world that couldn’t see past black and white. May your legacy live on. Because of people like you, I am able to be the man that I am.

I am judged by the content of my character, not the color of my skin.

Cheers!

-Ceddy
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