Our Voice
This week, civil rights activists and leaders fighting for equality rejoiced as construction began on a monument honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The monument will be built on the National Mall, near the Lincoln Memorial where King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
It’s about high time the ground was broken for this effigy; it has been in the works for the past 10 years. President Clinton signed off on the funding for the project back in 1996.
This is the first structure to be built in the National Mall to commemorate the work of an African-American. Why has it taken so long for Americans to accept each other? Why are we still plagued by the petty differences between us, like skin color?
Dr. King’s dream has yet to come true and we are terribly afraid that it will never be a reality. College admissions, employment opportunities, and simple everyday activities are full of peoples’ bias.
Things are better than they were 50 years ago, but the problem is still here. It still lurks in the dark corners of Milledgeville and across the whole country. We, as fellow Americans and human beings, need to take simple steps to put a stop to the injustice.
A simple smile while passing someone on the street, a wave to someone walking past your car, or helping someone in need are just a few miniscule things that someone could do to put an end to hatred.
And try not to judge people based on their appearance only. Skin color does not determine someone’s character. The way someone dresses does not determine how someone will treat you.
We think the Rev. Martin Luther King would much rather see us working to fix our differences rather than spending $100 million dollars on a monument that represent ideals that we can’t understand.
This is what Dr. King says:
“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.
"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.”
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Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Nov 17 2006. Filed under Opinion, Our Voice.
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