Friday, January 16, 2009
MLK Day 2009: A different feel this year
What would Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. think of the history that is about to be made when the nation's first African-American president takes the oath office?
Would Dr. King consider it the fulfillment of his dream or just a starting point? Would he point to the progress African-Americans, women and other minorities have made and tout how far we've come as a nation? Or would he point to the vast inequities that remain and tell us to keep working?
One thing is certain: There's a different feel to this year's King holiday because of the election of Barack Obama to the highest office in the land. There's a sense of pride and accomplishment among people of all colors because a majority of voters in the United States looked past the color of a candidate's skin and judged him on his promise to change the direction of the country.
| Photo: Associated Press |
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| President-elect Barack Obama, in this 2007 photo, speaks behind an image of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Obama will be sworn in on Tuesday, Jan. 20, as the nation's 44th president and the first African-American to hold the office. |
"This year marks a significant milestone in the realization of Dr. King's dream," said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. "And just as our union helped Dr. King open America's eyes to injustice, we will also help President Obama fix the many difficult problems our country faces."
Perhaps leaders in the White House and Congress will help answer the question of whether we are advancing toward a more just society, or merely paying it lip service.
"Power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve purpose," King once said. "It is the strength required to bring about social, political and economic change."
Will our leaders, in our current dire economic straits, seek to help those who have lost their jobs or leave them at the mercy of market forces?
Will we seek to ensure that women make the same pay for equal work or continue to treat their labor as not equal to that of men?
Will we protect those who want their legal right to form a union and bargain collectively for a better future or will we let the same people who led us into this economic nightmare call all the shots?
Will we help provide health care for every American or allow corporations to decide who gets treatment and who doesn't and decimate our economy even further?
The answers to these questions aren't always clear nor will they be easy. But what is clear is that Americans demand change so that we have a chance at peace and prosperity for all. And we now have a leader who has promised to work for the changes in American society that Dr. King spoke eloquently about.