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Practically Speaking


Reflecting on the 60s and Martin Luther King Jr.

History, Truth



Today, I much prefer the message of Martin Luther King Jr's niece, Dr Alveda King. She much more embodies the work of her uncle, in that she promotes judging someone on the content of their character, not the color of their skin.

In looking back to my school days, I remember my first trip to Florida in the early 60s. It was my first time in the south and I think I was in the 6th grade. When we stopped at a gas station in Georgia, I was puzzled over the 2 sets of restrooms. Mom, what does White Ladies Only mean? It seemed so odd. She explained why they had the 2 sets of bathrooms, but it still did not make much sense.

Fast forward in time to the summer of 1967. We were camping up in Rhinelander when the riots broke out in Milwaukee. I think there was a photo in the local paper up there of the National Guard and rioters in the street back home. That was rather eerie. Another picture I remember was of barricades across Lake Drive on the Shorewood (my suburb) and Milwaukee border.

My Jr. year was a bloody one. Martin Luther King Jr and Bobby Kennedy shot down. One wondered if there ever would be a brotherhood of man.

But things have improved. For whatever you may think of the Bush administration, one cannot ignore the fact that his cabinet has judged people on the content of their character and not the color of their skin. President Bush Senior appointed Justice Clarence Thomas to the highest court in our land.

When my son and I were studying American History and Civil Rights, pictures of segregated drinking fountains and lunch counters seemed just as ridiculous to him as that separate bathroom did to me as a child. 

Today, more people are involved in integrated relationships, marriages, and adoptions than ever before. One has to wonder how in time anyone will even know if someone is "white" or "black" because there will be no such thing.  We will just be mankind. "There is really only one race--the human race. The Bible teaches us that God has 'made of one blood all the nations of men.' Acts 17:26", and isn't that what Martin Luther King Jr. preached? 

We still have a long way to go but sometimes it is difficult to see any progress unless you look back and see how far we have come. The Dream Didn't Die with Martin Luther King



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Vicki Mckenna



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