

OPINION: Dr. King's dream still not fully realized

10:16 PM, Aug. 24, 2013  |  Comments
EMERGING BLACK LEADERS - BOHANNON August 24, 2011 AVONDALE Ennis Tait, Church of the Living God Pastor, is photographed at the church. The Enquirer/Carrie Cochran

In many ways, minorities in this great country believe that Dr. Martin Luther King's 1963 "I Have A Dream Speech" opened the door to certain "freedoms." However, these "freedoms," that should be afforded to every citizen of the United States, continue to come with a price.

In 1863, Negroes were emancipated by a new law from slavery. In 1963, blacks were liberated by a new law ending segregation and discrimination.

In 2013, African-Americans were devastated by the elimination of laws designed to protect our civil rights. Were any of these laws really ever designed to protect minorities? Maybe so, maybe not. As minorities, we are constantly pleading for an equality that should already exist for every U.S. citizen.

According to many historians, the 1963 March on Washington was organized to confront myriad issues targeted at "coloreds and Jews."

Over the course of a few days, minority leaders pleaded with lawmakers to develop remedies designed to treat and put an end to an epidemic that would soon rip through our country like an incurable disease. Also during this time, Dr. King had an epiphany that one day his "four little children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

The evolution of this reality is still a work in progress. Unfortunately, because we still live in a nation where men are "judged by the color of their skin," the epidemic has been contained, but not extinguished. This was truly evident in the death of young Trayvon Martin in Florida.

For the past 50 years, the world has anxiously watched for the manifestation of Dr. King's dream. Unfortunately, only some aspects of Dr. King's dream have been actualized. For example, this nation elected a black man, Barack Obama, to the highest office in the land. Apropos, there are other minorities that have been elected to public office, hired by major corporations as CEOs and COOs, and selected by trustee boards to lead major universities and colleges. In my opinion, the election of Nelson Mandela by the people of South Africa was evidence that Dr. King's dream had an impact on the world.

However, after 50 years of marching, holding rallies and town hall meetings, minorities (African-Americans and Hispanics) are still facing unfair hiring practices, racial and social inequality, high unemployment, low wages, social economic disparities and mass incarceration. Many would agree that the issues we faced 50 years ago still exist today, but in different forms.

Author Michelle Alexander talks about these new forms of racism in her book entitled, "The New Jim Crow."

Consequently, we have engaged the next generation in this race for change without ensuring that the baton was sufficiently handed off.

Now, my three sons have begun to ask, "How many more marches? How many more rallies? How many more town hall meetings will we have to organize before our voices will be heard?" Don't get me wrong. As a benefactor and product of the above-mentioned strategies, I will continue to be a supporter and agent for change. But I am not sure if this generation is as optimistic about our future as were our grandparents in 1963.

The only way minorities can truly have a future in our country is to work together to keep Dr. King's dream alive.

We cannot afford for the resurgence of racial biases and cultural differences to paralyze the little, but significant, progress we have made as a nation. I am committed to making sure that America is still and will always be the "land of the free" and "the home of the brave." ■

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