“A Dream Not Yet Realized”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere!”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In 2011, decades after these words were spoken by Martin Luther King, Jr., and after one of the greatest speeches of our time, Dr. King’s memorable “I Have a Dream” speech, these words still ring true as we each endeavor to improve our community and quality of life. As this writer reflects upon the past, the present and our future, I am reminded that that we still have work to do to make this a better America, a better state, and a better community.

I wonder how many of us have taken the time and made the effort to try and understand just what Dr. King was saying when he spoke this small but eloquent and powerful phrase. I can imagine that some of us only looked as far as was necessary to understand the phrase itself. Others may have applied these words in a context that relate to race relations and racial injustice. Additionally, there may have been many other connotations utilized or applied to the statement.

I would like to suggest another meaning to the statement. One more universal and one which I believe apply to society as a whole. The celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday as a national holiday did not come to be because people of color needed a national hero. It did not happen because black people across the land demanded that a black man be given be a day to be recognized by the citizens of this nation as a national holiday. It was not a token gift to United States citizens because we needed another national holiday.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, as does other holidays named for several our country’s great leaders, exists because there needed to be a memorial to what many of our citizens, (i.e., people of all races, color, creed, and national origin) accomplished in their effort to improve the quality of life our country, our communities, and the relationships among those peoples who make up our communities. The relationships that have manifested themselves in the many injustices that plagued our national and local government, our policies and practices, our societal standards, our economies, and our conduct at home and abroad.

Martin Luther King. Jr. was a believer- A believer in God and man. He was a believer that God could and would make a difference in the lives of all who believed in him. He was also a believer that all men are created equal. A believer that our laws handed down from God, as well as by man, should be applied equally to all men everywhere.

We are a community. The existence of injustice anywhere IS a threat to justice everywhere. This is true because any single act of injustice plants a seed that has the potential to grow into a destructive cancer. A cancer filled with the power to destroy the confidence of our citizens in our systems, leaders, and each other. Questions arise about our motives, our decisions, and our actions. Fear about whether justice is diligently being sought by those charged with the responsibility of leading and guiding us in our search for a better life can and do arise. Doubt takes over instead of a belief in a life whose quality is rooted in equality and justice.

Lest we never forget, we can never achieve justice, unless we have first discovered the truth. The truth is a necessary and mandatory element of justice. We are an ever changing and evolving society. It takes all of us to make a better community with an improved quality of life. Every citizen, neighbor, teacher, business owner, judge, policeman, office holder, etc. are an integral part of what our community is and represents.

Speak the Truth as a way of Life. It is our contribution to fighting injustice. Think about it.- JDE

The “Dream” is a real possibility. We must not ignore the fact that the “Dream” is not yet realized as long as injustice remains a part of the fabric of this community. Let us join hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder to stamp out injustice.

James D. Evans, III