Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Ted Folkert – January 15, 2018

There will be many articles and remembrances for Dr. King today – as there should be. He was a tireless and stalwart crusader for redress for the plight of the powerless minorities who were impoverished and imprisoned in a life lacking equal rights, equal education, and equal employment opportunities and equal law enforcement.

He was denied an equal right to live his life and broadcast his opinion while opposing the plight of minorities in a country expressing the virtues of freedom from the wrath of dictators, monarchs, and other tyrants, but denying civil rights to people who looked like him, simply because they looked like him.

The worst outcome of his murder was, of course, the loss to his loved ones.

The second worst outcome must be our loss of his continued drive for equal rights, with his eloquent voice, his determined drive, and his persistent, non-violent movement for equality.

The third worst outcome must be the unsolved crime. James Earl Ray was convicted of his murder, but we still didn’t get the real culprits, those who hired him. Someone knew who they were but chose to conceal the truth for the benefit of continuing the racial intolerance of the South.

To get true healing from this loss, not for his family, there can be no solace there, but for our country and his cause, we still need to identify the culprit or culprits who planned and caused this horrendous assassination to happen. Justice still has not been served.

Dr. King knew he was a target but persisted fearlessly. He was thoroughly inspired to implement change in the lives of people who looked like him. He stated in his last public speaking, the night before he was assassinated, “I may not be there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.”

Dr. King would be speaking loud and clear about racial justice now that we have elected a bigot to lead our country and who attempts to backtrack the progress of racial equality that we have enacted since Dr. King’s death. He would be speaking loud and clear about the racist voter suppression. He would speak loud and clear about the marching of white nationalists and about our president calling them “some very fine people.”

May his movement continue forward in spite of the bigotry we still endure in our society as we celebrate the life of Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. May he rest in the peace he deserves and may he continue to see progress in racial equality resulting from his fearless leadership.

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