Did we forget?
Today was more than swearing President Obama into his second term. It is about the man who fought for the rights of many African Americans in this country several years ago. Today, Mon Jan. 21 or the third Monday of January is a day reserved to honor him, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
If the president’s inauguration was not today, would we have even celebrated it?
For many students, specifically at Marshall University, it is just another day off from work or classes. Several students said they love the fact there are no classes and “hooray! a three day weekend."
You can see on Twitter or Facebook post of people enjoying the day off and an occasional “Happy MLK Day!” Is that the extent of our celebration?
In elementary school, there are tons of activities on and around this day to honor King and to learn the significant role he played in our history. Students still had off on the actual date, but they are honoring him in the days before and after.
Now, it really is a day off. Where are we to celebrate this man? A local church in Huntington, W.Va. sponsored a march 10 a. m. today to honor several of the marches King led several thousands of people throughout the country. Though, on this specific day, there was not much celebration since the day has been consumed with the celebration of the presidential inauguration.
There was time to watch the inauguration, to head to Walmart for a few necessities, and complete some homework. To me, I didn’t even honor the man at all.
Do we ever? Are we more grateful to have this day to catch up on the “To-do list” around the house?
It is hard to believe that anyone took the time to remember an important man from some years ago.
But, we’re not all heartless. We tend to forget. There is no constant reminder that today or any third Monday in January is a day we should take time to honor King.
President Obama surely did. He did not say anything out loud, but his inaugural speech was closely similar to the one that King gave years ago. King spoke of freedom for African Americans and President Obama spoke for the rights of gays.
Both spoke of brotherhood and the needs to be equal in this country.
King said this in his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech: “I have a dream that one day…little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.”
President Obama’s speech contained the repeated words of “our journey is not complete.”
“Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal, as well,” President Obama said.
Both also spoke of working together, being a nation together. The word together was stressed in both speeches made by these men.
“With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day,” King said.
“We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together,” President Obama said.
President Obama had King in mind when writing this speech and whether he publically mentioned the significance of today or not, he honored the man by forming his speech to that of King’s.
Still, none of us really sit down to think about our “day off.” A day we are to honor a man who was arrested several times for the rights of black people in this country. To honor a man who spent most of his life educating himself and came a leader for the Civil rights movement.
King was born was born Jan. 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Ga. He graduated from a public segregated high school at the age of fifteen, according to a biography by The Nobel Peace Prize. King then graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor’s of arts degree in 1948. King also completed three years of theological study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. In 1951, he was elected president of his senior class, who was predominantly white, and was awarded a bachelor’s degree, according to the Nobel Peace Prize biography. After his fellowship at Crozer, King took his education further and enrolled in graduate studies at Boston University. King completed his residence for the doctorate in 1953 and received the degree in 1955.
After his advanced education, King focused his efforts on the Civil Rights Movement. By 1954, he was a member of the executive committee for the National Association for the Advancement of Color People, according to the Nobel Peace Prize.
King was elected in 1957 as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which was formed to provide new leadership to the efforts of the Civil Rights Movement according to the Nobel Peace Prize biography. Between the years of 1957 to 1968, King delivered speeches across the U.S., traveling a large sum of miles, and was arrested about twenty times. He also wrote five books and was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963, according to the Nobel Peace Prize biography.
Due to his enormous success as an activist during the Civil Rights Movement, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of thirty-five. King’s life was cut short when he was assassinated on the balcony of a hotel in Memphis, Tenn.
We will always remember who Martin Luther King Jr. is and was, but as the years continue to fly by we tend to forget the importance we place on holidays in order to remember strong leaders. Maybe that will change or we will keep checking off things on our “to-do list.”
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