Keeping Dr. King’s dream alive
By Dan Dick | Staff Writer
As long as I can remember, even back in preschool, I had Martin Luther King, Jr. Day off from school. I didn’t think much of it back then. To me, it was a day I could stay home and play with my Star Wars action figures. As I grew older, realizing Dr. King’s impact on American society, I viewed the day as one of introspection and contemplation. The day to honor a man who, 200 years after the composition of the immortal words, “all men are created equal,” valiantly struggled to prove those words were not mere literary flourishes. He strove to see whether those beautiful words which had survived a terrible and bloody civil war, were still as true in his day as when they were conceived.
This was a man worth emulating! I pondered the content of my character, questioning whether or not I possessed the courage to stand by my beliefs. MLK Day became a solemn day for me, not unlike Good Friday, where friends and family noticed the sudden seriousness from the goofy kid who was always trying to get them to laugh.
When I first came to the University of Indianapolis, I was impressed that the university had a special event for MLK Day. I think the University of Indianapolis does an excellent job at educating the student body on the achievements of Dr. King through the celebration they hold each year. To come together as a community and share our views on such an American icon seems more fitting.
Some of my fellow students have expressed discontent with the university’s scheduling practices for the month of January. They cannot understand why their friends from other schools get the day off and we don’t. To these students, I pose this question: if we didn’t have class on MLK Day, how many of us would honestly remember to observe the day? Would you make the special effort to Google Dr. King’s name or search YouTube for clips of him speaking? How many people would just sleep in or use the day to recover from an extra night of drinking?
If it weren’t for the campus-sponsored celebration, many students wouldn’t realize the difference between MLK Day and any other Monday.
For many students my age, the Civil Rights Movement seems as ancient as the Great Depression or World War II. They can draw comparisons between those events and what is happening now, but they can only barely understand those turbulent times. For Americans to take an interest in the not-so-shining moments of our nation’s history is difficult. Like slavery or our treatment of the American Indians. The events surrounding the Civil Rights Movement reflects the immoral behavior we as a people were capable of, and perhaps still are.
Bigotry and intolerance are still prevalent, and any who would argue otherwise is suffering from severe denial. Perhaps racism toward African- Americans has diminished, but what about prejudice toward immigrants, homosexuals or Muslims? I think it is safe to say that Dr. King’s message of hope and inclusion was not solely meant for African-Americans of his time, just as he proved that Adams’, Jefferson’s, and Washington’s message of liberty was not solely meant for white men of their time.
