Headline: KEEPING
ALIVE KING'S DREAM
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman
Publication: ST.
LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Sun., Jan. 14, 1996
Section: WAR PAGE, Page: 4B, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT
To MANY, Monday - the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - means little more than a day off.
To others, however, including me, the holiday serves as a reminder of King's vision of America as a land where people would someday be viewed as individuals and not as colors, a place where blacks, whites and others would learn to get along with one another and not be fearful of working, learning or living next to one another. To King, the concept of integration was a positive one in which everyone would benefit.
Today, however,
that vision seems to be lost on many.
We
live in times when people feel insecure. They are uncertain about their jobs.
Many fear that they will be the next to be laid off by businesses that want
to maximize profits. The reaction, in my view, is similar to that of small children
at breakfast who worry that the child next to them somehow got more cereal than
they.
We
also live in an era of impatience. Some whites are impatient with programs designed
to help alleviate racism, programs like affirmative action. They argue that
the program's been around for 30 years, so racism on the job and in education
should be eliminated by now. They don't realize that racism in this country
developed over hundreds of years and that it would be extremely optimistic to
expect that it could be eliminated in such a short period.
On
the other hand, some blacks are just as impatient with America. They believe
that America is changing at a snail's pace, and some now advocate the opposite
of King's dream - segregation. That word isn't used, of course, but it's expressed
in a growing interest by blacks in all-black schools, neighborhoods and societies.
They, too, have forgotten that racism didn't appear overnight and that it won't
disappear overnight either.
The nation's racial
thoughts are further complicated by politicians who try to take advantage of
racial fear and animosity by telling us that up is down and that day is night.
These characters plant seeds of hatred and mistrust in the public by telling
us that programs designed to help the poor are hurting them; by taking away
such programs and replacing them with nothing, they argue, we will somehow help
the poor.
In
effect, they suggest that we stop feeding the hungry. When they get hungry enough,
they'll scrounge for food elsewhere. If we no longer feed the hungry, we're
told, this will somehow make them stronger.
We're
told that we'll somehow reduce racism by getting rid of programs designed to
reduce racism. We're told that minorities who might benefit from affirmative
action policies are actually hurt by them. We're told that whites who aren't
hurt by fair affirmative action programs are hurt badly.
Some
even have the gall to suggest that King would have supported the elimination
of the very civil rights programs that he advocated.
In fact, though,
I suspect that King would have been very disenchanted with what's happened in
America. While progress has taken place in some arenas, very little has occurred
in others.
In
some ways, America seems to be losing its ability to be compassionate toward
the less fortunate among us. It seems to be popular to blame the poor for their
poverty; to blame the homeless for their homelessness; to blame those who are
discriminated against for their discrimination.
King
would surely shake his head in disbelief were he to see where America seems
to be heading.
Yet King's birthday would seem an opportune time to assess the direction of America as well as to assess ourselves. Are we working, in our own way, to make King's dream of this nation become a reality? Do we even consider that dream a viable one?
For me, the dream
remains not only viable but one that sorely needs pursuit. Perhaps more than
any other national figure, my own world view was influenced by King. One need
not be an eternal optimist to hope that Americans will one day be more comfortable
with one another and feel enriched by their knowledge of this country's many
cultures. I believe, as did King, that we all stand to benefit in a country
that is integrated throughout.
With
the ever-increasing diversity of America, the need for such integration, understanding
and comfort among races is probably more important today than at any other point
in our nation's history.
King
made a difference in this country.
It's up to us - all of us - to see that his dream becomes a reality.
Gregory Freeman's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Friday. ... < deleted >
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