Monday brings the annual holiday dedicated to honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a towering figure in the civil rights movement and humanitarian endeavors.
Had Dr. King lived to Friday, he would have reached 87 years old. We can only wonder at the satisfaction he might feel seeing the America of today.
Americans widely recall Dr. King’s legendary “I Have A Dream” speech, delivered during The March on Washington in Washington, D.C. in 1963. Few speeches in American history rank among its equals, and we celebrate both its powerful message and the eloquence with which Dr. King presented it.
The world rightfully acknowledged Dr. King’s unwavering commitment to his principles and to justice. His achievements were recognized through the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and following his death in 1968, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
We recently discovered a poem composed by a local junior high student in the aftermath of Dr. King’s passing. The poem’s conclusion reads as follows:
Martin Luther King had many talents for one single man
Such as making speeches and bettering his land,
But too bad all great things must come to an end,
We have lost Martin Luther King, everybody’s friend.
This Monday, we encourage you to reflect on this remarkable American whose legacy fundamentally transformed the nation by placing civil rights advancement at the center of our national consciousness.