The angst and anxiety that so many people have been feeling the past several months is understandable. From an unrelenting pandemic that has taken so many lives, to the plague of social injustice that continues to challenge the lives of Black people in the United States, it has been a difficult time in America. How fitting it is, then, that the first major holiday of the year that we celebrate is the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr holiday. At a time when we need all the hope we can get, honoring the legacy and dream of Dr. King offers us some comfort.
In pursuit of the dream, Dr. King probably had few days off. Fighting for civil rights has no “down time”. Discrimination and bigotry don’t take vacations. Dr. King’s dream was for us to have freedom of opportunity in America. The opportunity to elect those who would serve us best. The opportunity to be educated at the schools of our choice. The opportunity to live where ever we wanted to live. The opportunity to have our own businesses. The opportunity to pursue our own dreams.
Celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King is not a singular event. Instead it is a reminder that pursuing one’s dreams is a 24/7/365 endeavor. It does not begin or end on January 15th.
So as we celebrate the Dr. King holiday in these troubling and unsettling times, let us be comforted and encouraged by the vision of the Dreamer. The best way to celebrate Dr. King is to pursue your own dream everyday.
S. A. Miller
1.15.2021
