Thank you Dr. King!
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Matthew 5:9
As a child growing up in the south, I experienced segregation firsthand. My parents raised my siblings and me to have self-esteem, but that did not deter me from the hurt and embarrassment of having to go to the “colored” entrance when I went to the movies or public bathroom.
I went to a college in a town where the freedom marchers had made an indelible impression. Things had begun to change; I could go in the front entrance of a restaurant and even shop in stores (though there were still dirty looks) and be waited on at the cash register. To a young person this was a remarkable accomplishment. I remember my roommates and I saying to each other “Wow we walked right in there, like a regular person!”
It’s hard to explain this to young people these days, because a lot of our history has been left out of the books they use in school. But I tell them; I tell them to be thankful for the sacrifices that people made like Dr. Martin Luther King. This man who chose to make a difference and he chose to walk the way of peace.
It is not easy to stand by and watch injustice and still walk the way of peace. In the book of Ecclesiastes 3:8 it says that there is a time for war and a time for peace. I believe that God gave Dr. King a mandate that to win the war of racism and segregation was the way of peace. That is the only way that he and the others were able to withstand the threats, being thrown in jail, spat upon, hit, cursed at and called terrible names. Dr. King had heard from God and was able to share his "dream" so that many, many people stood and marched by his side.
Thank you Dr. King, thank you for walking the way of peace. Your mission was not in vain, I along with millions have benefited greatly from your sacrifice and obedience to God.
Matthew 5:9
As a child growing up in the south, I experienced segregation firsthand. My parents raised my siblings and me to have self-esteem, but that did not deter me from the hurt and embarrassment of having to go to the “colored” entrance when I went to the movies or public bathroom.
I went to a college in a town where the freedom marchers had made an indelible impression. Things had begun to change; I could go in the front entrance of a restaurant and even shop in stores (though there were still dirty looks) and be waited on at the cash register. To a young person this was a remarkable accomplishment. I remember my roommates and I saying to each other “Wow we walked right in there, like a regular person!”
It’s hard to explain this to young people these days, because a lot of our history has been left out of the books they use in school. But I tell them; I tell them to be thankful for the sacrifices that people made like Dr. Martin Luther King. This man who chose to make a difference and he chose to walk the way of peace.
It is not easy to stand by and watch injustice and still walk the way of peace. In the book of Ecclesiastes 3:8 it says that there is a time for war and a time for peace. I believe that God gave Dr. King a mandate that to win the war of racism and segregation was the way of peace. That is the only way that he and the others were able to withstand the threats, being thrown in jail, spat upon, hit, cursed at and called terrible names. Dr. King had heard from God and was able to share his "dream" so that many, many people stood and marched by his side.
Thank you Dr. King, thank you for walking the way of peace. Your mission was not in vain, I along with millions have benefited greatly from your sacrifice and obedience to God.
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