“I had a dream once. It was a dream that little black boys and little black girls would drink from the river of prosperity, freed from the thirst of oppression. But lo and behold, some four decades later, what have I found but a bunch of trifling, shiftless, good-for-nothing…”
Those words didn’t actually come from Dr. King’s mouth, rather, his character in a parody episode of The Boondocks. Even though that episode was pretty foul, the message was that if MLK were here today, he’d be so ashamed, disappointed, and disheartened.
Unfortunately, those photos are real, and I wish I could say it’s the only time I’ve seen something like that. But it’s not. Club promoters are using the image of a civil rights leader to push their party for a three day weekend. This man fought for racial equality, led boycotts, endured harassment, was arrested and assassinated, and people think the third Monday in January is just another day off? The disrespect is unbelievable. Is nothing sacred?
When President Obama was elected to office in 2008, countless amount of people wished that Martin Luther King, Jr. was alive to see the day. Our country is being led by an African-American president. That would have definitely made Dr. King and other civil rights leaders proud. But there are so many ridiculous things that would make them feel ashamed.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean the characters on “love of” this and “housewives” and their making up of content on television. However, we give and receive those judgments. Baby mamas‘ and sisterhoods? So many of our late great activists have been rolling over in their graves at what we’ve been doing to ourselves.
MLK Day is a day to reflect on the blood, sweat, and tears that Dr. King and others sacrificed for things we take for granted today. We should be celebrating our freedoms, and how far we’ve come since 1963 when he delivered his speech in Washington, D.C. The dream is not complete, but it should not be insulted.
It’s been almost 50 years, and we still have a long way to go. We can continue to move forward if we would get out of our own way. Stop the ignorance, stop the arrogance, and stop using Dr. King to promote your ridiculous party.