HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. KING

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today my family went out to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday.  As is our custom now, we choose to do something together as a family that we could not have done 50 or 60 years ago.  We decided together to go see a movie, and sit side by side in recognition that once, in my own lifetime, we would not have been allowed to do so in many places in our country.   

When we got into the theater itself we found it to be a small space that was relatively full.  The higher seats were mostly taken and there were a smattering of single seats sprinkled throughout the upper section.  Normally we would have split up, but not today.  So we found 4 seats together in the lower section closer to the screen, sharing popcorn and the pleasure of spending time together. 

I'm thankful for those who have gone before us, who have made not just these  simple outings possible, but for the greater things.....such as being able to have the family that I have. I'm thankful for those who put their lives and well-being at risk, so that I could be the wife and mother to this husband, and these children.  It is because of the struggle of others that I can enjoy a sweet afternoon with my husband and children in safety.  Such a small thing as going to an afternoon movie, together, as an inter-racial family, has come at great cost.  Thank you Dr. King, and to all the others who have fought the great fight for racial equality and brotherhood, for making my life beautiful.