As most of us in the United States know (probably because we all have the day off from school/work), today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This day was set aside as a holiday to commemorate a very special American, a very special man who has greatly impacted the history of our nation and the modern world. In his later life, this man struggled through life in his quest for racial equality before his tragic assassination.

The truth is, racism is not a thing of the past. Perhaps it has simmered down in the past century, but it is still quite alive today; after all, equality has only recently been enforced by the law. These kinds of things do not happen in an instant, but they happen over a prolonged period of time; that is, if they happen at all. Slowly, but surely, we are moving towards that final goal.

I would like everyone, especially today, to remember that we can not evade the past. We must acknowledge the past, the history of the struggle of blacks and the astonishing accomplishments which they have achieved throughout history. Instead of placing the blame elsewhere, the blame upon other people and those of past generations, we must place the blame on ourselves in order to move forward. Blaming others does not accomplish anything; it simply puts the problem elsewhere. And, indeed, this is still quite a problem.

It's not like the Civil War and slavery are over, at least not in their effects. Millions of blacks are living in poverty; they were off to a terrible start with the sharecropping system, then segregation in most aspects, such as education, and were not truly given the opportunity to succeed until after the 1970's - due to the absurd concept of white supremacy, they are lagging. The people who worked their asses off in slavery, often in terrible conditions, who fought for the Union for the sake of freedom, who were practically the reason for the success of white southerners, were denied the rights which they more than deserved once they were granted freedom from slavery.

In my opinion, this is what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. embodies, this is what this holiday embodies. Here is a figure, an icon, who took a stand; he took action. Although he lived amongst the Civil Rights Movement in full throttle, that is no reason why people today can not do what they can to counteract racism in our modern world. We're almost there, but we still have some work to do. Even the smallest steps, such as writing this journal, still stand for something.

I also think this is a day to think of Sudan, and other tragedies occuring elsewhere due to ethnic or religious prejudice. Too many people are completely oblivious to what is happening around us in the world - genocide. America is far too egocentric; we need to look outside of our own little world and look at what is happening outside. As we all know, what is being done to protect the innocent people being slaughtered in Darful is completely inadequate, and is not receiving the attention which it needs. Countries such as China are building up Sudanese cities, helping the Sudanese government and giving it even more power, more power to exercise upon the helpless beings who are being targeted simply because of their ethinicity. This is completely unacceptable, and this is one of the areas in which I look upon China with disgust. If anything, the rest of the world should be shunning the Sudanese government; instead, we turn our heads.

What we need to do first is to simply be aware, and then we can work from there.

For an enlightening read regarding the history of blacks in the United States, I highly recommend reading Mississippi by Anthony Walton.
Also, be sure to visit =Denis-Peterson, an inspiring deviant who commits himself to raising awareness for the crisis in Sudan.