A Thought on MLK Day

While driving to work this morning the radio station I was listening to played the "I Have a Dream"speech.  I've heard it numerous times over all of the Martin Luther King Days over the years as many people have.  But this morning it struck me... it really was not so long ago.  I mean, my parents lived in a segregated world.


I then remembered when my Mom told me about the time a little boy called me his little, ni***r friend and how she had to explain to me what that meant and how what he said was not a good thing.  How hard that must have been for a mother to have to explain that ugly truth to their child.  I also remembered when I was in elementary school and my big brother explained who and what the Klu Klux Klan was and how shocked I was that there were people out there that would do that to other people or hated other people that way.


Soon I found myself overcome with emotion as I thought forward to this little boy in my belly. How I wish that he will never have to see or experience the ugliness in this world.  How I hope I'll never have to explain why some people treat others differently because of the color of their skin.  Don't get me wrong, I know things are better then it was when my parents were kids, heck, even when I was a kid and I thought about that too.


I thought, "Wow, we have a black president." I can look down at my little boy and tell him, "You can be anything you want to be, even President of the United States". Look what this generation has accomplished past the one before us, I thought how much further he will go past what I and his father have achieved.


There was sadness because I, naturally want to shield him from all the ugliness in the world and happiness & hope at the prospect of what his life can be but what really hit me was the immense responsibility Jerome and I have of not only raising a child in this world but a black child and one step further - a black boy child that will grow into a black man.


I thank the previous generation for what they endured to give us the world we enjoy today.  I pray that we (my generation) are blessed with the strength and perseverance to continue to build a better world for our children.