This post I’m certain will anger some, inflame others and certainly provoke strong emotions for many more… However, to grow as humans we must shatter the accepted definition of prejudice.

Whether, you’re white, black, yellow, brown, straight, gay, democratic, republican, male or female I promise you that there are prejudices in your life. On this day, which we historically celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr, visionary and activist, I propose a broader understanding of prejudice.

On October 14, 1964, King won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. While most people, if asked would certainly point out that King was the voice of equal rights for blacks in the US…. They would be only partially right.

Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law made it illegal to treat people differently because of the color of their skin when they were trying to buy a house, rent an apartment or go to a restaurant, for example. In fact King was arguably the single most influential human rights activist in the United States ever.

So powerful was the movement he inspired, that Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the same year King himself was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. Posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, King is an icon of the civil rights movement. His life and work symbolize the quest for equality and nondiscrimination that lies at the heart of the American—and human—dream.

https://www.youthforhumanrights.org/voices-for-human-rights/champions/martin-luther-king-jr.html

I wonder though, in his dream for equality, would he find comfort in the equality of this new decade? I think he would not. In fact I think he would be disheartened by the drone of prejudice which still beams in our society.

You see, while King championed the end of racial segregation, he was a “true believer” of equal rights across all venues. I do not think he would have found equality in the prejudice we still see for blacks, for gays, for whites, for Christians etc…. No, I do not believe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would find that we had carried on his legacy well at all.

Hate is the ruin of all men, of all colors, of all genders and all beliefs. So if you think that King would have supported a climate of white bashing for example, then you need to revisit his words…. Their meaning and apply his same untiring commitment to fighting for equal rights for all.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Martin Luther King, Jr. / “I Have A Dream” speech, August 28, 1963

I would further say I have a dream that humans will not judge nor be judged by their sexuality, race, gender, nor any other means besides the “content of their character”…. EVER.