"Sing about Martin"

When I was a child in elementary school, the music teacher had songs for every holiday. These same songs were song in our weekly music class every week from kindergarten to sixth grade. One of the songs I particularly liked was called, "Sing about Martin." The words were very simple and the message plain: Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man to be admired and imitated.

Since I have grown older, I have read Dr. King's books and listened to his speeches, and I have come to believe that the message is far greater than one man. The hope of equality, the struggle for justice, the love of freedom: all a greater than Dr. King himself or the American Civil Rights Movement. These goals and aims are the principles of Christianity put into practice.

When I visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis this past year, I was fascinated by the sheer numbers of students and young adults who were around me saying things like, "I had no idea this happened," when looking at the graphic scenes of the Civil Rights Movement portrayed in the museum. I had been raised in a home to revere Dr. King and his work. Relating the experience to other people later, some were shocked that I would even go to the National Civil Rights Museum at all. They had a misunderstanding that it was a place only for people of color. I believe we can all celebrate and benefit from the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement in America. It is a movement that should never stop as the members of our society strive to stand united and equal.

Happy MLK, Jr. Day and may you give your life to the service of others,
-Will