Washington, D.C. - This week, as we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is fitting that we pause to reflect on the life of this courageous leader who stirred the conscience of our nation and led a movement that transformed American political and social life.
Dr. King’s work helped secure rights for oppressed African-Americans who still faced widespread discrimination more one hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation. He and the many unsung champions of the civil rights movement overcame police dogs, beatings, imprisonment and killings to tear down the walls of segregation that divided our nation into black and white.
Last year I had the honor of taking a trip to Alabama with another hero of the civil rights movement, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia. We visited many sites that were stark reminders of the struggles and sacrifices that were made just four decades ago, including the bus route in Montgomery where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham where four young black girls were killed by a bomb. There were also signs of the great progress our country has made as a result of the brave efforts of Dr. King, John Lewis and the civil rights movement. In Selma, on the notorious Edmund Pettus Bridge, where John Lewis and civil rights marchers had been beaten bloody by Sheriff Jim Clark and the Alabama State troopers in 1965, African American policemen stopped traffic to allow hundreds of us to retrace the steps those marchers had taken across that bridge thirty-eight years earlier.
My thirteen year old daughter, Anna, accompanied me on this journey. What we saw and learned had a profound impact on both of us, but especially on Anna who had been less aware of painful struggle for civil rights. It is critical that young students growing up today learn about the cruel realities endured by African Americans before the civil rights movement. This knowledge is important not only as a matter of history, but also because of its relevance now and into the future. Despite the enormous progress we have made, we must continue to work to stamp out racial discrimination whenever it raises its ugly head. Today, we still face large gaps in opportunities, especially in the area of education.
Martin Luther King’s birthday is a time to reflect on the true meaning of the words enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and solemnly repeated by Lincoln at Gettysburg -- that all people are created equal. On this day, we must rededicate ourselves to achieving a more perfect union and ensuring that all Americans, regardless of their background, be given an equal opportunity to enjoy the fruits of liberty and pursue the American dream. That requires that every child have access to a first rate education and that “No Child Left Behind” becomes more than a slogan. It requires that access to jobs, housing, and the vast array of opportunities in this country be based on individual accomplishment and not denied because of race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.
This is a time to reflect on the work that still needs to be done toward realizing Dr. King’s dream of establishing respect for all people’s human rights and eliminating racial discrimination and ethnic bigotry. Each of us can make a difference. Every day we have opportunities to reach out to others in our community and treat others the way that we want to be treated. We can quietly ignore discriminatory conduct or we can make it clear that such behavior will not be tolerated. We should always ask ourselves: “How would I want to be treated if I were in another person’s position?” If we are able to look at our communities from this perspective, our lives will become richer and we will be able to build upon the legacy of Dr. King.