From SoulVisionTV.com
After the Holiday, the Work Continues
Civil rights advocates, from
the national leaders to the local communities, began a fight years ago in the
United States to compel those of European heritage to stop their practices of
discrimination towards those of African descent. As history has noted, those fights were often
brutal, yet those civil rights soldiers who fought the fights; who marched the
marches; who protested peacefully, did not waiver in their determination to
make this nation look at itself and realize it was not living up to its creed.
As we celebrate Dr. Martin
Luther King’s birthday, we have to recognize that change has come. The 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting
Rights Act, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 are tangible examples of progress not
just for Blacks, but for society as a whole.
Community schools have improved and college education is more
accessible. There are successful Black entrepreneurs,
business leaders, mayors and governors.
We have been the beneficiaries of those civil rights workers who dared
to dream a reality that many understood they would never see. Dr. King, himself, would not have imagined
that a young man born in Hawaii to a Kenyan father and White mother would
someday be the president of the United States.
So where are we today? Discrimination still exists. Bigotry hasn’t been eradicated. Prejudice still persists. The unrest in our communities is real. The desperation and hopeless doesn’t
magically disappear with a new sunrise. We
have to find ways to help the hopeless.
We have to find ways to brighten spirits where darkness wants to
reside. We have to provide encouragement
in places where people believe it can’t exist.
Those are the same challenges
that those who began the fight for civil rights had to deal with. They had to convince the hopeless, the
naysayers, the desperate, and the darkened souls that things could change; that
it could be better. This is the same
challenge today. Even though there has
been progress, we also know that this place is not the place it should be. As we remember Dr. King and all of the early
warriors for civil rights, understand that the push for progress is not
easy. Impediments are created solely to
throttle progress. Dr. King would tell
you that. He would also tell you that
even at the darkest of night, the light of day is never very far away. We must continue the fight.
Pursuing the Dream Video
