MLK: The Dream Continues

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Mississippi still shares this celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday on the third Monday of January and Robert E. Lee's birthday January 19. In Alabama, Martin Luther King Jr. and General Robert E. Lee share the paid state holiday on the third Monday of January. Robert E. Lee still honored along with Dr. King? What?  Yes. Only in the South. I wonder why? (Not really!) Before we all head off today to honor Dr. King, let us not forget that there are those who fought tooth and nail to stop the holiday, and there are still states that tarnish his day with honoring confederate traitors. Most important to remember is that Dr. King and many others died at the hands of some of the same racists who are still with us today. We have not won the battle that Dr. King is symbolic of. He fought for workers, for unions, was against the war in Vietnam, and established a Poor People's Campaign. Income inequality in this country has gotten worse not better. We still face racist Republicans in state houses and a majority on the Supreme Court who want to take away our voting rights. Don't let anyone bury this history. And don't let anyone tell you the battle against racism is done. We can honor Dr. King by taking action, and moving forward.   Every day.

Comments

  1. MikeFebruary 19, 2014 at 4:38 PM

    There's no need to disparage Robert E. Lee, an ancestor of mine, to accentuate King's legacy. Lee was one of the greatest military minds our country has ever seen, training many of those who would eventually fight against him while heading West Point. His strategies are still taught there. He was loyal to the Union and turned down Lincoln's offer to lead the Union army only because he could not bear to fire on his neighbors and family members in Virginia. By the time of his death, he had worked to reconcile the North and South, and he was revered in both regions. He called slavery evil before the war began, and during the war he worked to liberate slaves and fund their moves out of the country. He founded an illegal school for slaves on his own property. That's a lot more than can be said of many others of his time, including Grant, who freed Southern slaves only to force them to dig his trenches in Louisiana. And, there's a lot more to learn from history, and the history of civil rights in this country, than this-one-bad, this-one-good.

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