SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

TBTG! FOR MARTIN LUTHER KING JR by (me!) sandra, tvgp

how many people, i try to explain to my children...

how many people have populated the planet; (that's too big), how many people have populated the united states of america? ( i don't know the answer myself, but i know it is several many digits)

-k-

and how many days do we have on our calendar?

and how many people's birthdays -out of those 365 days- do we celebrate?

the answer is -a very small percentage -a very small number of people's birthday's are celebrated/recognized compared to the number of people who have lived in the united states and have birthdays, yes

and so, martin luther king jr... what did he do, what rare thing did he do, that earned him such a high place of recognition on our calendar?

they are still too young to fully appreciate his accomplishment.

but i am not.

oh! i feel him shining down from heaven today, don't you. with barack obama as president!

do you think he could have imagined such a day?

the surprising answer to that question is YES!

talk about the audacity of hope! when blacks were so gravely mistreated, oppressed, unjustly crucified

when the world was violent, and so specifically violent against blacks;

when segregation was the norm

when so few people saw anything wrong with blacks n' whites drinking from different faucets, eating at different restaurants, sitting in different places, going to different schools

in the most hostile environment, when hopelessness seemed perfectly justified; rose a genius of a different kind.

i'm blown away by his vision.

his accomplishment. especially in context with his environment

1963, the year my brother was born. 3 years before my own birth. 6 years before my younger sister's birth

he led a non-violent, peaceful, march for equal rights in washington d.c.

i note here, as would he, that the ultimate success of this effort; this grand effort! belongs to many, many, countless people

the manifestation of his vision is a collaborative one; God at the top.

when i consider the racist environment my parents grew up in, in ohio, -again, when segregation was the norm

and then take in, how despite their own upbringings, they raised all of their children true to martin luther king jr's famous quote:

to treat people based on the content of their character and not the color of their skin.

i'm always so grateful; so proud of them; happy for us.

and i consider,

i consider how there are some cultural habits, behaviors, systems, standards that

when examined -do surface as unjust; sinful, in a universal and very concrete way. and that encourages me to always examine the cultural standards, not accept them simply because they exist and i was born into them

no, "that's just the way it is," for me. and i hope the same is true for my children.

and -skipping back n' forth

i just love, that martin luther king jr was awarded the nobel peace prize -and president barack obama too.

what greater honor, than to be an ambassador for peace.

i'm so inspired by both of their life stories; their magnificent, against all odds, accomplishments

and most impressed with the path they chose for reaching their audacious goals. such integrity.

thanks be to God for both of them! -and now, i can't remember who it was..

but there is someone... a famous someone. a boxer/fighter? a singer? i can't remember and will have to look it up

but whoever it was, he is to thank for getting martin luther king jr's name on our national holiday celebrations list

there are quite a few hoops to jump through... it was quite an effort and accomplishment too, to have martin luther king jr a recognized figure in history, and celebrated on our calendar

it was not bestowed without someone going to great lengths... this is important to recognize also.

-and so, skipping around again,

but not only are my children still too young to fully appreciate this holiday, but thankfully

they are growing up in an atmosphere so far removed from the racist atmosphere their grandparents grew up in,

that they can't appreciate how far we've come. equality is more the norm now -and that, i think, is actually an accomplishment of a different kind, isn't it. because in fact, it is not a lack of appreciation so much as it is the fulfillment of God's plan and martin luther king jr's dream. -which lives on.

to peace! and equal rights! and character! ~amen.


****

oh! thank you wikipedia

there are only FOUR -4!- individuals who are recognized on our calendar

and the famous person, i couldn't initially think of, who helped spearhead martin luther king jr. day was...

stevie wonder. -how cool is that. "happy birthday to you! happy birthday!"

i'm gonna go listen to it on youtube....

posted by SHE @ 1:25 PM