(HOST) Commentator Andrew Flewelling isn’t very formal when it comes to celebrating important dates, but once in a while he makes an exception.
(FLEWELLING) For some reason, I’m always trying to de-emphasize the importance of holidays. “It’s only a day,” I’ll say to my wife when I’m explaining why it’s okay to celebrate my birthday on the weekend before or after the actual day, instead of in the middle of a busy work week. And I tell my wife I love her every day – not just on Valentine’s Day. But I must admit that for me, January 15th is different.
By celebrating the birth and life of Dr. King, our nation elevates the actions of a man whose life was taken because he struggled to help this country live up to the promises made by its founders. He used his voice in a most American way. He exercised his right to criticize the state of the country and in so doing, illuminated the problems and inequities of American society.
I have heard people challenge whether Dr. King’s birthday warrants a national holiday. I have heard it described as being relevant only for African Americans. When I hear this I try not to laugh, or get angry. Instead I do my best to show why Martin Luther King Day could be considered the most American of holidays. Consider that Presidents Day celebrates two past presidents who – aside from their positive accomplishments – both owned slaves. But Martin Luther King Day celebrates the ideals of truth, equality, and the right for every American to protest injustice, even if that injustice is perpetuated by a government that was created on the premise of equality.
For me it also stands for hope – a hope that one day all people in this country will be granted equal rights, with equal benefits, irrespective of their sexual orientation, their religion, their ability, and yes, their race. After all, aren’t these ideals relevant to all people, not just African Americans?
Yes, Martin Luther King Jr. was African American, and yes for those of us who are of color in this country, as well as for many who are not, his life and the things he did remain a beacon of light that shines through the darkness, even after his death. But the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to all of us, so it seems only fitting to me that we celebrate the man whose actions and words played such a critical role in its passing.
Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed thirty-nine years ago this coming April 4th. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is only forty-three years old. A lot has changed in forty years, but there is still a great deal more to do before we can truly be a free and equal society.
Yes, it’s still only a day. The sun will rise and set as it did yesterday. But today Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned – I say, should have turned – seventy-eight today – and that makes it a day for all of us to reflect – and remember.
Andrew Flewelling lives in Underhill and works for the University of Vermont.