I was at my local YMCA on the exercise bike doing what I can to keep my heart healthy when I heard a number of older gentlemen near me talking about the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. These men, and sometimes a few women, come often to the Y and banter while they exercise. At one point one of the men said that Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was for the one African-American man in the group, not for him.
That statement struck me at the time as mistaken, but I think it is a mistake that many, Black and White, make. Certainly, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. focused on uplifting the African-American community, but he understood, and emphasized in his speeches, that his life work was to help fulfill the promises of our Declaration of Independence and Constitution for the benefit of our nation as a whole and for all Americans, and even for all of God’s children.
In Dr. King’s most famous speech, the “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered on Aug. 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he said:
“Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.”
Dr. King understood that our nation would not fulfill our foundational goals until the promises contained in our founding documents were extended to all Americans:
“There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.”
Dr. King also understood that however tempting an “us versus them” mentality may be, as in this people against that people, the goal of his struggle was about principles, and not personalities:
“We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline….The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.”
Dr. King knew that America had not up until his time lived up to its founding principles, and if he were alive today, I believe that despite the progress that has been made he would say we still are not fully living up to those founding principles:
“So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
Dr. King realized that the enduring greatness of nations is not based on their economic or military power, but collectively on the quality of the lives of all the nation’s citizens. Our founding documents provide a blueprint for us to strive to become a nation where all people are created equal:
“And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.”