DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. — We just celebrated the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I wonder if Dr. King was here today, would he be proud of his impact on the world or saddened by today’s current standings?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a great vision in which we all can exist in a society where race is not an issue in how people are treated or how they are allowed to live their lives. A majority of us here in America have been educated on Dr. King, know of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech or have observed the federal holiday to honor his legacy.
Dr. King was very instrumental in the way he lead the movement, by placing his life on the line for freedom and justice every day, in hopes of civil rights reform. King played a part in many well-known civil rights movements in the 1950s and 1960s such as the boycott of the Montgomery city buses and Memphis Sanitation Worker Strike.
One of the key focuses of King’s vision, aside from a quest for racial equality, was the idea of non-violence. Despite being arrested 29 times, he refused to return violence in the same manner of his oppressors or display violent actions in any of his protests. Not only did he believe in a non-violent approach, he taught his followers to do the same, based on the principles of Gandhi.
No battle is ever perfect or complete in the war for civil rights. The efforts of King and those like him have changed the country and the world for the better in many noticeable ways. His vision has made the world a more equal place, if not an equal one, and it has helped to ensure that minorities have a voice.
Dr. King’s efforts have impacted the millennial’s activism in several arenas in the civil rights reform. The areas include LGBTQ issues, immigration reform and the systematic killings of unarmed men of color. I personally think Dr. King would be truly proud of all the steps we have taken as a society to create equal civil rights for all. The end is very near, but we have so much work to do to ensure it can be enjoyed by everyone.
For more information on Martin Luther King Jr., visit the Equal Opportunity SharePoint site at https://dm.eim.acc.hedc.af.mil/355FW/EO/List/Announcements/AllItems.aspx or contact the Equal Opportunity office at 228-5509.