Yesterday, the nation celebrated the memory of truly one of the most influential Americans in history - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
As every school age child is taught, King was a hallmark of ideals. His achievements are arguably the most significant in United States social history and his courage unparalleled. King has come to embody everything people look for in a leader. And despite some personal shortcomings, similar to those of his contemporary John F. Kennedy, King's legacy lives on.
In the years since the national holiday was established to commemorate his life and death, accusations have surfaced about marital infidelity and plagiarism in academic writings. Despite these alleged personal failings, King should still be revered as a remarkable man, and might be viewed more as a fallible man than a larger-than-life hero. Although some might try to diminish his contributions to society if those alleged failings are true, the simple fact is that his achievements warrant the holiday named after him, and respect for the social changes he helped to bring about.
As great as the feats accomplished by the Civil Rights Movement are (including King's and other leaders and groups), it would be foolish to think society has evolved to a state of true equality. True, integration has occurred. True, economic and political gains have been made. True, social injustices have been corrected. But society is still far from the vision of civil rights leaders from all periods of history. Equality has yet to be achieved, and it is sad to think that only once a year is this truth remembered.
King was a great man who recognized systematic social injustices. He worked tirelessly to rectify them, and lost his life in the process. America has come so far from the days of Jim Crow, but we have yet to reach the mountaintop.
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... but a one far from realization
