Imagine the impact you must have on society to earn the honor of having your life commemorated by a national holiday. In 1985, President Reagan bestowed that honor on Martin Luther King Jr.
The day is important, and his impact is eternal.
Few of our citizens have been given days in their honor. Our past presidents are acknowledged on the birthdays of Lincoln and Washington and on President’s Day in February. Our freedom is revisited on Independence Day in July. Our war heroes are remembered on Veteran’s Day in November.
And, of course, the annual cycle of honoring of remarkable people and their accomplishments kicks off every third Thursday in January when King’s life is commemorated. Although it is only a coincidence of the calendar, it is quite commendable that his day is the first of many significant holidays this nation celebrates.
But it’s unfortunate that it seems to be the only day that his legacy leaps to the national forefront. And it doesn’t stop there.
From Harriet Tubman to Marcus Garvey, from Sojourner Truth to Malcolm X, the history of African Americans has never been given the respect it rightfully deserved.
True, some parts of history have been reinforced time and time again, but not others.
Each time a black is senselessly harassed reminds us of the deplorable brutality that occurred during slavery.
Each time a black child opens a history textbook that either has insufficient, or even worse, inaccurate information about African Americans reminds us of how many in this society seek to ignore their remarkable accomplishments.
And that is why we must honor King and his legacy. For if we don’t, who will?
Some think blacks should be satisfied with getting a day for King and a month for Black History.
Well, to those who are blinded by the darkness of ignorance, I ask you, is one month, which ironically enough is the shortest one of the year, sufficient for us to display the remarkable achievements of blacks? Obviously, the answer to that is an emphatic no!
Therefore, my understanding of Northwestern administrators’ arguments justifying why we don’t get a full day off from classes doesn’t equate to my agreement.
We should be given the opportunity to get away from the normal daily grind to take part in the events that commemorate King’s life, to realize how much impact he had on this society.
King had a dream that we are dreaming, as well. As Benjamin Hooks, former NAACP executive director, told a captivated audience Friday evening at the MLK Forum hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha, “you can kill the dreamer, but you can’t kill the dream.”
King may no longer be with us, but his dream for racial equality walks with us this very day.
And the same way we remember his dream, we remember his life. Let us not just remember it on his day but each day forth because no matter what racial trials and tribulations we endure, we must remind ourselves that the dream does live on.
