By Julie Borders
On January 21st of this year, we celebrate the nationally recognized Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday (http://www.thekingcenter.org/) that Coretta Scott King & many others worked so tirelessly to establish. We are grateful for this 1st family of the Civil Rights Movement’s sacrifice, commitment & perseverance in keeping the Dream alive, despite the loss of its primary Dreamer. Today, January 15th, 2008, Martin, Jr. would be turning 79, if he still occupied that particular suit of flesh & bones. Martin’s spirit, of course, lives on in those who accept the mantle of truth, justice & unwavering faith in the intrinsic goodness of the human spirit.So today I sing praises to and express appreciation for the ancestors & parents who birthed him and the community that raised/raises him up, physically, mentally & spiritually: family, friends, teachers, preachers, doctors, lawyers, statesmen, street sweepers …women, men & children, past, present & future, generously sharing their individual journeys to our collective greatness. Thank you for the yearning & learning, desiring & inspiring, motivating & emulating, poking & prodding, loving & leaving, signifying, rectifying & testifying. Thank you for asking us to do what must be done to be all that we can become.
We remain steadfast in the inner knowing that the Dream is in our grasp, if only we choose to courageously reach for it. What action can we take today to transform the darkness of poverty, disease & ignorance into the brightness of abundance, wholeness & enlightenment? Let’s not just KNOW the answer, let’s BE the answer to the divinely human challenges that make life worth living. Atlanta’s Center for Civil & Human Rights (http://www.cchrpartnership.org/) represents an outstanding opportunity to tangibly weave this work into our everyday lives. So I ask you now, how do YOU remember, celebrate & act in these most holy Civil & Human Rights days, weeks, years & millennia, in this & every precious moment?
Ditto on MLK and his legacy.