The angst and
anxiety that many people felt in 2021 continues in 2022. From an unrelenting pandemic that has taken
many lives, to the continual fight to overcome criminal and social injustice,
to the preservation of voting rights, Black people in the United States have to
deal with many challenges. How fitting
it is, then, that the first major holiday we celebrate in 2022 is the Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. At a
time when we need all the hope we can get, honoring the dream and vision of Dr.
King should offer us some solace.
Dr. King believed America
could be better, but he understood change would neither be swift nor easy. There has been progress for Black America
over the last 50 years, but the journey has been, and continues to be, filled
with challenges. Newton’s Third Law states: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite
reaction.” For every step made towards
fairness and justice, there have been those who vigorously oppose that progress. Today, Blacks are more prominent in politics
than at any other time in United States history, yet the organized efforts to suppress
the Black vote are as strong as they were in the sixties.
Despite all of the
efforts to thwart the political and social advancement of Black people in
America, I believe Dr. King would be encouraged by the progress Blacks have
made over the past 50 years, but Dr. King would also remind us that progress
made, has to be progress maintained. That
it takes conviction, faith, hope, and unwavering persistence to prevail against
those evil forces that would conspire to deny Blacks Americans fair and equal opportunity.
So as we celebrate the Dr. King holiday in
these troubling and unsettling times, let us be comforted, encouraged, and
appreciative of the vision of the Dreamer.
S. A. Miller
1.05.2022
