Next Monday is Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.
Dr. King, a Baptist minister and civil rights leader, dedicated his life to the promotion of equal rights for all people. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn., but King was perhaps the most influential leader of the civil rights movement. He called for personal responsibility as a means to develop peace in the world. His birthday became a national holiday in 1986.
Most of us, however, tend to see King's birthday as just another day off from classes. And it isn't merely a problem with student attitudes. Even a prominent Muncie community leader seems to have forgotten what it is King sacrificed his life for.
The Star Press reported Jan. 4 that Randall R. Sims had been stabbed in a domestic disturbance. Sims is best known in Muncie for his vocal demonstrations, which led to the city renaming Broadway as Martin Luther King Blvd.
Sims, while being moved to an ambulance by Erik Estrada, who was serving as a reserve Muncie Police Department officer, confronted Estrada, arguing that Estrada didn't know anything about King. Estrada, seen in a video on the Star Press Web site, argued back, and suggested that growing up in Harlem made him as much an expert on King's life as Sims, and the argument soon devolved into profanity and threats of potential lawsuits.
Dr. King certainly must be looking down on this with pride. What does it say about Muncie?
A man who dedicated his life to naming a street after Dr. King apparently has no clue as to what King really stood for. A celebrity impersonating a police officer will likely bring our community embarrassment when this fracas is shown on national television. And that very television show plans to make a quick dollar off Muncie's racial divide by preying on our city's poorer citizens in the hopes of entertaining a reality TV audience.
What about King's dream? I seem to recall King dreamt of equality for all, for a day when whites and blacks could set aside segregation and come together for justice.
He fought so that blacks wouldn't be treated as second class citizens, shoved to the back of the bus, denied the basic rights given in our Constitution that say we truly do hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
He fought for freedom, and now we celebrate his legacy with a holiday devoid of any true meaning for most people.
He didn't dedicate his life to this so he could have a street named after him.
He didn't dedicate his life to this so we could have a national holiday in the middle of January.
He dedicated his life to this so the world could be a better place.
Next Monday, on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, may we all remember what the holiday really stands for.
Write to Jonathan at jonathansanders@justice.com
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