A moment for Martin Luther King Jr.

The last week or so my wife and I have been marveling over what our son Hayden is learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. as a kindergardner. He's basically gotten the whole story in a watered-down version that is palatable to the six year old brain. We reflected on the fact that when we were in elementary school thirty-some-odd-gasp years ago, none of this was part of the traditional curriculum. Heck, there in the mid-70's Martin Luther King Jr.'s words weren't even ten years old and the first decade after his death hadn't passed. As much as I tend to take for granted the lessons of the Civil Rights movement, it's hard to believe it was still simmering when I was born in 1970. We're still not far from it and certainly haven't finished our evolution on this subject. There are still people in Stacey's hometown that can't watch a black man dance with a white woman. Perhaps my son's generation in it's historical distance and relative starting point for thinking about race issues will move us that much closer to Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream. Hayden still doesn't get why we're talking about it. That's good on one hand but still a little naive on the other.

Race and poverty are still shamefully intertwined, educated friends who are black feel that it is condescending when told that they "speak well," and other friends point out the hopelessness and despair that frame their peers' reality. Things have definitely improved over the last forty years but the circumstances that surround the above realities reflect the prevalence of inequalities. Sometimes I worry that while our collective thinking about race is evolving, the relative silence on the subject masks the simmering cauldron that holds our fears, hopes, and prejudices. We're closer to King's dream but we still have a long way to go. I'd encourage everyone to make a point of studying Dr. King's words today. Even in the vastly different context of 2008, the dream is worth sharing.