Martin Luther King Jr.
So in some ways, I don't like Martin Luther King Day. It's a chance for rich white folks to get up on their hind legs and conratulate themselves on how enlightened and free of predjudice they are, maybe sing a few choruses of 'Black is so beautiful,' and then get right back to what they were doing before. I mean, come on: the message of the holiday tends to be, too bad Rev. King didn't manage to stick around long enough to see his dream come true, cause it has now, really!
Well you can tell how much you agree with that. And yet, MLK Day is actually one of my favorite holidays, because I think Rev. King is more worth celebrating than anyone else we get a day off of school for. His accomplishments weren't something that only he could do; all he needed was the bravery to stand up and say that the way things were being run was just wrong. He can't have been the only one to think that, but he was the only one strong enough to speak out, to take a stand, to say that everyone should be able to see things could be done better. And as soon as he said it there were plenty of people ready to follow him and help change the world; they were brave in their ways too, but it took his spark to get the whole thing going.
Now, I don't think we're anywhere near done with his project. In fact, I don't know that we ever can be done, really. But that's no reason not to celebrate his life; on the contrary, we need to celebrate it more, and use the occasion of the celebration to remind ourselves of the work that still needs to be done (in that spirit I offer this drawing). So make cupcakes and sing songs and all today, and tomorrow get out there and make the world a better place!
Plus, it's always nice to get a day off.