Dr King

 I know I am a few days late in my thoughts about Martin Luther King and the day we celebrate his contributions to America and the world.  Here goes:

I have been told that people of my ethnic background "cherry pick" when it comes to Dr. King.  Was he radical in his ideas that African Americans in particular or people of color got the short end of the stick.  I think a lot of people were made uncomfortable by those words and choose to pick only the ones that encourage peace and understanding, as they are much easier to swallow.  That being said, since I was ten when he was murdered, I find that I was -and still am- motivated by his wish that his children be judged by the content of their character.  It is my wish as well, that ALL of us be judged that way.  Bigotry and racism is not exclusive to white people.  I am often judged by the color of my skin and while it has much less  socio-economic impact on me, it is still there.   Can we learn to look past what we are taught about people of other races?  Probably not, but we can dream can't we?

I need to visit Dr. King's speeches as an adult, 50 years later.  My understanding of the Civil Rights movement is limited, as we were living in it and not really learning about the intricacies of it.  As with everything these days, there is a lot I do not know.

I will start with the speeches.