To day we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as all who followed and continue to follow in his footsteps. King’s fight for human rights is a legacy left for all children regardless of race, religion, or color. The fight he led for civil rights in the United States was, and still is, an inspiration for all who have, or are, oppressed around the globe.
On the 28th of August 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, at the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington D.C. during the famous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In his speech he stated:
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
…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.
Dr. King expressed his hope and dream that every man, woman and child would be equal that we would one day no longer see the color of ones skin, note ones religion, and truly be equal. We have come along way since he stood before a nation to deliver his message, a message which still remains often unheard, or misheard, so let us take this day to remember there true meaning. Dr. King while fighting for the rights of those of color in the United States, was not fighting for their rights alone, but that of all men, women, and children to be seen as equal regardless of their race, religion, or political views.
While Dr. King’s fight in the United States is one of historical significance, which left a country forever changed and inspired millions of others across the nation…across the globe to stand up for their rights and the rights of all others, today across the globe there still remains oppression. Some 27 million men, women, and children across the globe continue to fight for freedom from modern slavery. Across the globe girls continue to seek gender equality and children continue to be denied a right to education and adequate healthcare.
Dr. King stated in his 1958 speech, “The Measure of a Man”
Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.
Let us not fail to to see the children in the shadows who continue to suffer in silence, and let us all remember to look into the shadows to see those in need.
Dr. King Jr., once said “A right delayed is a right denied.” and yet across the globe people are still waiting for their rights. Children who are born into a world without rights, children who are denied their rights and children whose rights are delayed as there just isn’t enough resources, laws, awareness. Will we learn from those who came before us, from those who have faced the battles so that we may have a better future?
