Martin Luther King, Jr.

           My VIP for today is Martin Luther King, Jr. because today is the day when Americans reflect upon his legacy. It is a national holiday when many offices and schools are closed. When I ran errands today, I found several places closed and less traffic on the highway. King is honored in many other ways, such as having streets and highways named after him. Yet, few people seem to remember the reason for which he marched.

            King had a dream for America, a dream that Americans would one day recognize that they are brothers and sisters no matter the color of their skin. He dreamed of an America that would one day enjoy peace between the races. He dreamed that one day a person would be judged for their character and not the color of their skin. He was an African American marching for equality for black Americans and for Americans of all colors. Even though there is much more equality in the United States today, the script seems to have been flipped as people of color are racist and prejudiced against white people. Somehow, many people of color forget that King’s dream was for equality with each other, not mastery over people of another race.

            Alveda King, the niece of Dr. King, is one person who remembers. As a teenager she marched with her Uncle Martin, and she says that people forget about the spiritual aspect of the work done by her uncle.

            Today Ms. King works for the unborn children. She was at the Right to Life march on Saturday and offered the closing prayer for the event. In an interview by with Rob Bluey and Rachel del Guidice with The Daily Signal, Ms. King shared a summary of one of her uncle’s quotes: “When we learn to value the human personality, we won’t hate anybody.” If we truly want to King’s legacy to mean something in our lives, we must return to his foundational principles of prayer and Bible study.

            King and his niece are absolutely correct. When we realize that every human being is a child of Heavenly Parents as well as sisters or brothers, we will not be able to hate anyone. This includes the unborn children, the elderly, and the disabled as well as people of all colors. We need to look to the spiritual ideas put forth by King and let that be his legacy.