dr mlk day 2020

I remember going to church with my great grandmother and the way she would help me stand up and repeat the Bible verse “God is love”. I learned that I didn’t have to like you but I had to love you if I wanted to walk in the light of all that was good and what was right. Today we celebrate Dr Martin Luther King, a wonderful human being who chose a path of nonviolence in a time of violence, hatred and bigotry. We were judged, mistreated, beaten and treated worse than animals because of the color of our skin and not the content of a character. We had to ask ourselves questions so that we, as human beings, could understand the oppressor. We learned that the only right way to respond was to respond with hearts and to show that evil was not going to consume us nor destroy us. That we were able and chosen to rise above the violence and hatred and walk a path of love, of God, and know that no weapon formed against us would ever prosper. As Yolanda Adams wrote in her song “To fulfill divine purpose, you gotta answer when you're called, so don't be afraid to face the world against all odds”. To be ready to take on a task that is greater than who we are is exactly what Dr. Martin Luther King did. He chose a road not taken and he shared a dream. He said “one day we will all join hands and be able to sing the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

And what are we doing with that freedom? We have a voice, use it! We have power, use it! We are filled with courage. Love is the key. You can kill the man but you can never kill the dream. The dream lives on and it has traveled for decades from one generation on to the next. Happy Birthday Dr. King, and thank you. Thank you for your words, thank you for your dream. Your spirit lives on.

“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant." -Dr. MLK