Freedom

Today is the celebration of Martin Luther King’s birthday.  It is a federal holiday.  Only two other federal holidays are observed in honor of a person…George Washington and  Christopher Columbus.  Columbus Day doesn’t quite seem to fit the mold but so be it.

For over twenty years, I have been attending the Martin Luther King Day observance at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Seattle.  Seattle Central Community College, where I was a long-time board member and former board president, has sponsored the event since 1974.  President Reagan made it an official holiday and it was first observed nationally in 1986.  But all 50 states did not recognize it until 2000.  It was a hard-fought battle to create this holiday.  But in Seattle, a city known for its diversity, there was never any question about the impact of Martin Luther King on our society.

Growing up in the 60’s when Reverend King’s star was getting brighter has made me look closer at the importance of this celebration throughout my life.  For me, this has always been about freedom.  Our country was born on this premise and all of us, no matter what race or religion, have experienced freedom, or the lack of it, in some aspect of our lives.

That’s why the Mt. Zion event is always a must-do for me.  It brings thoughts of the freedoms we have in this country to the top of my mind.  There is a formula for the program.  It begins with the playing of Reverend King’s “I have a dream” speech.  Then there is some fantastic music and a chorus that rocks the room.  We hear from and acknowledge many of our elected officials from city, county and state.  And I have to say that those who spoke this year were unusually eloquent and on-target with their comments.

Then come the children with a special presentation of some sort.  This year, it was a dramatic reading inspired by Dr. King’s famous speech.  I tell you, when the bus driver told Rosa Parks she would have to move for the white passenger that just boarded and those kids said “NO!”, you felt it all over your body.

More music and singing and then an inspirational speaker.  This year is was Nate Miles from Spokane and now an executive with Eli Lilly.  He had more valuable messages than you can count and he related his life to every one of them.   He spoke directly to the kids about how to deal with bullies and to all of us about how to help the children who are our future.

He even gave us some trivia.  Did you know that the “I have a dream” speech was not what Dr. King was giving as he began to talk on that well-known day on the mall in DC.  He had given that speech before and now he was talking about ways to get DC politicians to pay attention to jobs for all.  The famous gospel singer Mahalia Jackson was behind Dr. King and, if you listen closely in the background, she says “Martin, tell them about your dream. They want to hear about your dream.”  He changes the speech in the middle and turns it into “I have a dream.”  What a fortunate bit of stage direction that was.

A community college student is then awarded a scholarship in the name of Reverend Samuel McKinney, retired pastor of Mt. Zion and an important community leader.  Reverend McKinney makes the award and finally then leads us all, after joining hands, in a few choruses of “We shall overcome”.

Freedom for all is a goal that is not easily achieved.  This country has been working on it for over 200 years.  We’re still taking tiny steps.  This celebration of the life of a man who wanted equality and freedom should at least make us think about how important each of us are in the process.  I hope you’re reading this tomorrow after taking today off and thinking about where we are all headed and looking for ways you can help.  Everyone can make a difference.