Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: A Call For Unity

By Bryan Cain-Jackson




Jailed in Alabama, the Reverend wrote his clergy, "A Call for Unity."

For those of you who know me, you are probably asking: How can he remember the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? He hadn’t even been born yet.

You’re right, I was born 14 and a half years after he was assassinated. So, all I have to go from is the teachings and readings that reflect how history remembers a great man who was a hero to many. He is also a hero to me.

There are days where I wish that as a young black man I could walk up to him, shake his hand, and tell him that “I understand.” There are two sharp edges to this sword. The first is that I would have lived through one of the worst periods of the oppression of my people. The second is that I would have lived the painful day where we lost one of our greatest voices. Therefore, I go back and forth on this. However, I feel I shouldn’t because if I did live that painful day, then I will have survived. I would have overcome. That too would have passed.

This month marks 43 years since the great Reverend was taken from us. Though quite a significant amount of time has passed, his words and his voice send ripples through to today. He carries a message that still applies to us all. Although we may have an African-American in office, we still have a ways to go before we can carry out his dreams.

Every day members of all races work and live together in perfect harmony in most places. However, there are still those areas of the country where racism is very much alive and rampant.

This month also marks the 48th anniversary to that great call for unity that the Reverend wrote from his Alabama jail cell. He was arrested for participating in the march against segregation.

In his memory, all of us and not just African-American people should carry along the message and the belief of the dream that he had for us. Remember, that it was a call for unity which means that we should all live together for God as brothers and sisters with no racial barriers.

Would Reverend King be proud today? Have we achieved his dream even a little bit?

Yes, but he would still say that we have a long way to go. That is because we do. Nothing will ever be perfect and I believe the Reverend recognized that. We as a race of beings, the human race, are on a struggle to better ourselves. It is that which defines our mortality. We will never be perfect, but it is that that eternal struggle that adds meaning to our lives. Never get comfortable, only be content, there is always more to achieve. Live to better ourselves and each other through love and through respect. No matter what color we may be, we still bleed red, we still love, and we still believe that there is good in the hearts of us all. I believe optimism makes sense to many, unfortunately, not to us all.

    We honor your memory