Martin Luther King, Jr. (2023)
Today is Martin Luther King Day, January 16, 2023. Let's reflect.
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. uplifted the hearts and souls of America with his I Have A Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial:
Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.
On August 30, 1963, William Sullivan (head of the FBI's Domestic Intelligence Division) wrote a memo about Martin Luther King, Jr. and his I Have A Dream speech:
We must mark him now, if we have not done so before, as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this Nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro and national security.
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot to death, in an attempt to end his dream.
On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the Bill that made the third Monday in January a national holiday honoring the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., in an attempt to fulfill his dream.
Today, half of America preach that Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream is a nightmare. They preach their dream of racial separatism, including college "safe spaces" and racially segregated college graduation ceremonies. They preach their dream of judging people by the color of their skin, including teaching our children that White and Black babies are different at birth.
In the 1960s, Martin Luther King, Jr. instead of Stokely Carmichael won the hearts and souls of America. Today, Patrisse Cullors instead of Ben Carson has won the hearts and souls of America's loudest voices.
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., let's reflect.