Notes from Martin Luther King Day

I remember in high school, when I used to do winter track, we would always have practice on martin luther king day. It wasn't so bad of a practice, we would start generally late and just hang out for a few hours, I think mostly the coaches felt we needed to practice any time we could, with no real idea what we should be doing. Every year there was a martin luther king tribute breakfast going on in the high school cafeteria, and somehow my coach was able to sneak us in. So there we were, 3 kids clutter around a table in our sweats with a bunch of mostly older black women in there sunday best. Also, after franklin high won the state title in football my sophmore year, a local church was having a huge martin luther king day service, and they invited our team as, well, i guess, successes of the community. It was the first time I had to wear a tie, and the hour before I was searching the encyclopedia to see if it had instructions on how to make a half windsor. I loved that service, it was quite lively. I hope I'm not using too much of a hyperbole that the civil rights movement was the greatest act of christian activism in america for the past hundred years. As martin luther king said:

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.