January 1954-2014: The Dream Continues

January 1954. 
My parents would be born this year into the segregated south, into a society that pitted whites against blacks.

January 1972. 
My parents were seniors in high school, and although Brown v. Board passed the year they were born, this would be the first year that South Carolina would integrate public schools.

January 1983.
Dr. Martin Luther King day was signed into law as a federal holiday by President Reagan.  
I was born a year before this.

January 2000.
All 50 states recognized MLK Day for the first time.
Now, as I would come to learn, although all states recognized this as a holiday, not all employers did.
While a newspaper journalist, we were given the option to chose MLK Day or Memorial Day as the holiday we wanted off. I never hesitated to chose to take a day off to honor the life of Dr. King and participate in a service project or community event.

January 20, 2014.
UNCF held its 24th annual MLK Awards Breakfast in Queens, hosted by our faithful team of alumni. More than 600 attendees came out to the event, which was a fundraiser for UNCF. The dynamic keynote address was delivered by my pastor, Rev. Michael A. Walrond, of First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem. Three points that Rev. Walrond shared that stuck with me that we should all have:

1. Passion for the possible
2. Commitment to Creativity
3. Hunger for Healing

We must believe that all things are possible and put our fears aside to achieve them. We must also humble ourselves to help others in need --whether they hunger for food, for physical healing or for peace of mind. Can you really imagine the pressure Dr. King must have felt to be the voice for so many black Americans, fighting to gain equality, while knowing everyday that adversaries wanted to kill him?! But yet he persisted because he believed his dream was possible. He found creative --and non-violent--ways to oppose resistance. He hungered to heal those in need and that hunger is what has brought us together today.

In my 31 years, and from the 60 year perspective of my parents, I've seen how American society has changed --for the better (and some, for the worse) from my parents generation until now. There are many things that I believe Dr. King would be proud of - advancements in educational access, more minorities in elected positions, including President Obama. But there are so many parts of our culture that he would probably shake his head  at (and I won't begin to name them all).

I just hope that we can learn from his strength and his works and be doers of good works; and not just hearers.

-OrAKAle