How could I let this day go by without saying something about my childhood hero and ancestral inspiration for all of my life?
Many folks don’t understand that, in spite of all that he may not have done and been, I am still a loving supporter of Barack Obama. Why? The answer is simple. He is fulfilling at least a small part of MLK’s dream, simply by being who and where he is. Beyond that, he is providing the young generations of African Americans with a role model. He gives them back some bit of hope that generations before them had long since lost.
I grew up in the 60’s with the Viet Nam war and the Civil Rights movement. The women’s movement was also taking form, as well as widespread coverage of the many various demonstrations and protests that were going on around those causes. I was raised by activists. My two great aunties who raised me had been instrumental in the eradication of the Klan influence in Colorado Springs during the 1940’s and 1950’s. I grew up knowing that it was my right and duty to address the wrongs that I saw in our world. I have never lost this part of me, and I’m grateful to my aunties for giving it to me.
I would say that today, I am most grateful to MLK Jr. for being a force in the world I grew up in. I was 13 when he was assassinated, and like many people of color of that time, I mourned his death, along with my family. I have often wondered throughout my life, how might things in our world have been different if he’d have lived? Would he have been behind Same sex unions? Wouldn’t he have been so very proud to know that we have a Black president? What causes would he have been championing now? He was cut down, just as he had started to lodge protests about the war in Viet Nam, how would he have seen the wars this country has been involved in since then? Or simply, how might things have been different had he lived?
We can speculate, but sadly, we will never know what things he would have done, and how the history would have played out had he lived. I do know this, however, the world is a much better place for his having walked in it. He paved the way for Barack Obama and all the other Black people who have risen to high positions. I feel grateful that I was able to get a Master’s degree, I feel that doors were opened to me that may not have opened before. I have great hope for my children, and I know that they have many more opportunities than even I had.
I will say only this in closing, I am sincerely and truly grateful that Martin Luther King Jr. was in the world, even if his time was tragically cut short. I am grateful for the hope he has given to me and generations after me. I am grateful that he lived.