How long does it take for a dream to become a reality? The Wright brothers proved a concept on the plains of Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903 with 13 seconds of flight—60 years. That concept became as real as a national transportation infrastructure of jumbo jets and airports and even took us to the moon. Between 40 and 50 years ago, the civil rights movement came to the forefront of American life. Today, the forces that brought about this movement still exist to some extent, underlying the importance of understanding and embracing the movement spearheaded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
It seems technology perpetually swings forward, where an innovation sparked by a few will spread like wildfire. At other times certain things just seem to move forward in a painstakingly slow process. This week we commemorate the life of Dr. King, a man with the concept of freedom for all achieved through nonviolence and love towards others. Momentum built, progress was made–and life certainly changed. Dr. King led millions to believe that they shall indeed overcome. His message echoed through the landscape and the ages. From Tiananmen Square to Poland and the Soviet Union, the just could overcome the unjust.
The civil rights movement, however, never really made it to the moon like the dream of two inventors in the fields of North Carolina. Racism and bigotry still exist today. Ignorance and intolerant people still perpetuate the cycle of hate—just maybe not as directly and overtly as before, and maybe not so much in this country. As much as we would like it to, equal opportunity does not exist for all. It still matters who your parents are, where you came from, and what neighborhood you grew up in. Many neighborhoods with high minority populations and disadvantaged families are still judged on other things than the capacity of their intellect and the record of their character.
Why is it that some things can move so fast, take hold, reach a tipping point and take on epidemic proportions—while others begrudgingly make concessions and grind to a halt until provoked once again? Why can’t we rid the world of racism and indignity like polio and smallpox? Why can’t peace ever completely persist? If injustice breeds injustice, and hatred conceives hatred, why doesn’t righteousness perpetually triumph injustice, racism, and violence?
The point is, Martin Luther King, Jr. may have passed, but his message is alive. It dwells in the impoverished wards of our cities, it is alive and well in military prisons where a citizen is held without trial. It is needed in the lives of our youth who are disenfranchised with life, believing they will never contribute to the society that they were brought into. Dr. King’s message takes on a heightened level of importance when society forgets the lessons of its past and allows Dr. King’s message to slide deeper into the ledger of history. Yet today, nobody is marching on Washington, and nobody is filling the streets of Birmingham. The boiling point is not upon us, yet we have not completely fulfilled the dream of Dr. King.
In Dr. King’s final speech we are told, “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” I ask those tasked with the duty of receiving an education requiring knowledge and character, when will we reach the promised land?
