We are a couple of months away from the 2020 presidential elections where America will choose its fate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump to lead them for the next crucial four years. Even though this decade has started off very dreadful due to the COVID-19 pandemic, believe it or not, there is still hope and faith for the future of this country.
On this very day 57 years ago, one of the greatest orators of our lifetime, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, which called for the end of racism and support for civil rights for African Americans.
Today, we still march and protest for the very same ideal world he so eloquently spoke about at Washington, D.C. In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down key components of the Voting Rights Act on the premise that we lived in a post-racial society or as Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. put it, “Our country has changed.”
The Chief Justice wrote for the majority, “While any racial discrimination in voting is too much, Congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions.”
However, on this day, ahead of the 2020 Commitment March on Washington, Dr. King’s eldest son, Martin Luther King III spoke. Through his words you could hear Dr. King as if he came down from heaven himself to give the speech. Martin L. King III quoted many of his father speeches where if we want change, we must be proactive.
He quoted his father from his “Drum Major Instinct” speech when he said, “We must be drum majors for justice.” He also pointed out the obstruction of the United States Senate, due to them blocking legislation when he said, “Nearly sixty years ago my father fought for the original Voting Rights Act.
Now it is our turn. We must demand the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Restoration Act to ensure each American can cast their ballot this November.”
Martin Luther King III would continue to quote his father by saying, “Fifty-seven years ago my father marched to overcome what he called the ‘Triple Evils’ of poverty, racism & violence. As we look around today, there is no denying all three evils are alive and well in America.
Tomorrow, we march to continue the fight against them.” The more Martin L. King III spoke the more it sounded like you were transported back in time to the sixties.
Martin L. King III brought up his father’s question, “Where do we go from here?” While taking a shot at the current administration for choosing chaos, he said, “We must choose community over chaos.” “We must choose love,” and “If you are looking for a savior pick up a mirror.”
The speech resonates with more than just African Americans, just like it did 57 years ago and just like then, we need human beings from all walks of life to join this fight, because what affects one, affects all of us.
As Dr. King said, “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
