TODAY on MLK Jr. Day

TODAY is MLK Day. The day we honor and remember a great man in our nation's history.

A man who lived, fought and died for the freedom of African Americans and all people.

TODAY I celebrate this man, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

And to celebrate Dr. King and his legacy I'd like to share a few more things that have happened TODAY.

TODAY I sat on a pew in one of Franklin, Tennessee's historic African American churches and listened to some amazing gospel music and powerful testimonials.

TODAY I stood up in that pew and applauded the spoken word shared and raised my hands to some soul-stirring songs like God is and Every Praise.

TODAY I marched with my husband, my children and a large group of people through the streets of Franklin. A mixed group full of black folks, white folks, Latino folks and native American folks.

TODAY we dreamed of unity and justice. The same dreams of Dr. King.

And I also made a really fun discovery...

TODAY I found a school assignment I'd written on January 17, 1984 when I was a freshman in high school.

Here's a pic of cover page of that assignment (apparently before I began using a desktop computer).

And here's a pic that I shared of my family in that assignment. In the summer of 1976 my entire family - parents, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins - traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to visit Dr. King's gravesite and the Center for Social Change. (I'm the second kid on the left)

TODAY I read the concluding paragraph of this assignment:

Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered on April 4, 1968, but his teachings and beliefs will live on. Late last year, President Reagan signed a bill making his birthday a national holiday. Now, hopefully, all children of all colors will know that school isn't out on January 15 so they can catch up on their sleep, but to celebrate the birthday of a great man in history, Martin Luther King, Jr.

TODAY I feel blessed, knowing that my children did not use the day to catch up on their sleep. Our day was filled with black church experience and marching through city streets with people of various skin hues and cultures and backgrounds and watching Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech during the 1968 March on Washington.

And yet...

TODAY I look into the eyes of the little pigtailed girl in this picture from 1976 and wonder, is our world the world she thought she'd be living in? 

(That's me in the denim overall shorts with my Mom, my Dad, my sister Sherri and half of my sister Lori. Apparently not a professional photographer!)

That little girl inside me is hoping for a better TOMORROW.

A TOMORROW where people are not accepted and appreciated in spite of their differences, but because of them.

A TOMORROW where more churches are filled with people of different nationalities, skin hues and socio economic groups.

A TOMORROW where Christians fight for poor children in subpar housing and second-rate schools as passionately as they fought for them in the womb.

A TOMORROW where we empower disenfranchised communities, instead of gentrifying them with million dollar homes and coffee shops.

A TOMORROW where we give disadvantaged people job opportunities in lieu of playing Santa Claus for their children each year.

A TOMORROW where people can agree to disagree on social media, instead of unfriending and writing each other off.

Can I get an AMEN?!!!

Because of men and women like Dr. King, we are blessed with laws that protect our freedom to vote, attend racially diverse schools and ride in the front seats of public transportation.

However, we have not arrived to the Promised Land that Dr. King spoke of so eloquently. We have a ways to go. And in recent times, it seems that perhaps we have taken a few steps back.

But I am hopeful. As I see more female leaders and leaders of various skin hues in education, the corporate world, politics and entertainment, I believe change is a-coming. 

TODAY I'm dreaming of a better TOMORROW.

Will YOU dream with me?