In Memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.

If you're old enough, do you remember where you were 50 years ago when you heard the news that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN? I do remember that day quite vividly as a group of us gathered in Oakland, CA at Professor Gerry Stolp's house to watch the news and to see the cities across America being set on fire. We were crying. Most of us were inconsolable and felt hopeless as one of our heroes had fallen.Now I am looking back 50 years later, and the view is a bit ambiguous. America has made a lot of progress. We see black players forming the majority of sports teams; we see many shows depicting people of color on TV. African-American actors, newscasters, singers, celebrities, writers, journalists are all visible and seem mainstream. We even had our first black president recently. On the other hand, I was surprised to learn that since the first black senator was elected into the Senate in 1870 only 9 others have followed, to this day - that means we have had only 10 black senators altogether in over 100 years.In some ways we want to pat ourselves on the back, but I have to say that of late I have been very alarmed by the shootings of unarmed African Americans and the sometimes inappropriate conduct of police forces around our country towards African Americans. Yes, black lives matter to all of us. As Christians we are called to be color blind, seeing and treating everyone with the sense of dignity they deserve. The job is not finished and, given the upsetting shootings, the unabashed re-emergence of white supremacists and neo-Nazis, we need to double down on our efforts to bring justice, hope, and a sense of peace to those who find themselves on the margins of our society because of the color of their skin.Perhaps it's time for us to do what Dr. King said in his last speech as he identified with Moses, who could only see the promised land but never entered it. We have to create a society that is just, open, and accepting of others, no matter what their color. May we not be distracted by the progress we have made but stay focused on the issues that hold us back from becoming the country and society we want to have.May we remember Dr. King but, even more than that, may we make his "dream" come true. It's up to us.MEH