Pride in the Name of Love

Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King. It was an emotional day here in Memphis. Dignitaries including Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Al Sharpton, Tavis Smiley, Dr. Benjamin Hooks, Rev. Billy Kyles and many many others were here to mark the occassion. All of the major news networks in the country were here with live feeds. There was march from City Hall to the national Civil Rights Museum. It was a somber day. It was a holy day here.

What struck me the most is the realization that Dr. King was just 39 when he was murdered. I'm not that far off being 39. His wife and my wife would have been the same age. His children and my children would have been the same age. The sheer thought of all that he did in 39 years and the profound difference he made in all our lives is amazing. That thought really spurred me to do more. We can always do more.

The Dreamer may be dead but his Dream - our Dream - very much lives on. To me the Dream is like Christianity. We're called to be perfect to be Christlike but we know we'll never quite get there. That doesn't stop us from striving to iprove. it doesn't stop us from recognizing that we've failed or fallen short and getting up and recommitting ourselves to living the Christian life. The Dream is the same way. We may not get there 100% ever but we can keep striving to get there. Where we have fallen, we can recognize that we've fallen short and get back and redouble efforts to achieve the Dream. After all, isn't that what Christ called and calls us to do - to love thy neighbor as ourselves. Isn't that what Dr. King called us to do? The road may be rough. It may be uncomfortable but it's what we're called to do - to form that more perfect union.

In addition to reflecting on Dr. King's life and the impact it's had on me (even though I wasn't even born yet when he was killed), I also reflected on just how far we've come. There is good news.

It would have been absolutely inconceivable in 1968 that the Mayors of Memphis (Dr. Herenton) and Shelby County (AC Wharton) would be African American men. It would not have been possible for the Speaker Pro Tempore of the State House to be a black woman from Memphis (Lois DeBerry). Men like Melvin Burgess would have never been the head of the Memphis police department. The University of Memphis would not have had a woman (Dr. Raines) as its president and there would not have been anywhere near the numbers of African Americans or women who were going to school there. An African American (Larry Finch) would have never been the head basketball coach at the University of Memphis. The heads of the Memphis School Board or the Memphis City School Superintendants would have never been African American. Men like Stanley Cates or Elliot Perry would have never had the kind of money to have an ownership interest in a pro sports team. A majority of the City Council would not have been African American. Many of our judges would not have been African American. Memphis would not have been named one of the best places for black owned businesses as it was recently.

We've come so far in the 40 years since Dr. King's tragic and sad assassination. We can't lose sight of that. We can't forget the remarkable progres that we've made. We also can't lose sight of the fact that the road to true equality and to the Dream is long and steep at times and we've come many miles but we have more to go. Saying we have more to go doesn't denegrate just how far we've come. It's just reality and a recognition of the perfect nature of the Dream.

The night before he was murdered, Dr. King gave his famous Mountaintop speech at the Mason Temple. In it he said, that we as a people would reach the promised land. I sure hope that he's right but until we get there we all have to keep on marching in that direction. The Isrealites were lost in the desert for 40 years before they found the promised land. Maybe the forty years since Dr. King's death have been our time in the wilderness and we'll soon the promised land.

The last thing that I thought about this 40th anniversary is that we are so lucky to have the National Civil Rights Museum here. If you haven't been there, you need to do so. It's truly holy ground and will touch your soul.