Dream on

Black and proud?

By Drew Evans

"He had a dream so I could too." This was my Facebook status last year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I didn't really think much of it at the time. I wrote it because it sounded cool, and I knew people would like my status. What do you know? They did. A lot of people liked it, and I walked away feeling clever for my little status, but now when I think about it, he did have a dream so I could too. I know a lot of people feel that this is just a day where they don't have school. It's a great day to relax, but it is so much more than that and not many people can see it. I remember I was texting someone and I told him I didn't have school that day because it was a holiday. He texted me back in surprise. "Really?" he said, "What holiday is it?" That shocked me. We are so caught up in our own lives that we can't even take a moment to think about how much King changed and affected our lives. I am an African-American woman and without King, my life would be so different. I'd have to go to an all-black college and I'd probably not be going to UC Blue Ash. I would have a whole different set of friends. I wouldn't even be dating the guy I'm dating right now because he is white and there's a good chance that if it weren't for King, we would never have met.

But that's not the case because King was here. He gave us all hope and a future, but do we as African-Americans take advantage of it? Many African-Americans before us fought for the right to sit at the front of the bus and to be treated like any human being should be treated, but most of the time if a group of African-American kids gets on the bus, they all run to the back of the bus. Many African-American civil rights leaders fought for us so that we would have the right to read and write, but those who read are sometimes mocked and looked upon as "uncool" by peers or even worse by other fellow African-Americans. During the time of slavery, slaves would change the way they talked to trick the slave owners into thinking that they were stupid and the slave owners felt that they had more power over them. But in reality, they talked like that so that no one would think that they were doing anything sneaky like plotting to run away to freedom. The way they talked was called slang, and we still use slang today, and people who use slang heavily are still looked upon as ignorant. So why do we as African-Americans still use it so heavily? Or like in jail, wearing baggy jeans can show other inmates you are willing to have sex with them, so why do black men, who are straight, still doing it? Why do we as African-Americans do things that seem to undermine the fact that civil rights leaders fought so hard for us to be treated better but we act as though it doesn't matter? I know many African-Americans know and understand what has been done for their freedom and try to show respect but are still ridiculed. I have heard many people say why do you "talk like you're white" to an African- American person. It seems that so many wrong messages have been spread telling us how we are and are not supposed to talk. But with all the messages being spread today by the media, African Americans are sounding more and more idiotic and no one seems to care.

This is something I wrote a while ago and it seems appropriate for this occasion:

Black and Proud?

"We are of a race so proud and so bold

From generation to generation our stories are told

Fredrick Douglas, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks

A few people with amazing stories watch the lights that they spark

What about our generation now?

How would the King feel if he was still around?

They fought for our right to read

But now we look at books like they have some type of disease

We were once a force so strong

But the passion is dying away, how could we let it, it's so wrong

How can a black child see?

What being black is truly meant to be?

Not "being cool," "hip," "gold chains," and "cars."

But strong men and women who would reach for the stars

Am I truly alone in a battle so right?

Its seems like I am because I am constantly being asked why do I talk like I'm white"

What I come to realize is that we can't forget what Martin Luther King did for us. We can't forget what changes in our lives he had helped bring us. We can't forget because we cannot and should not live in ignorance.

A True Leader

Dae'Shawn Gordon

Martin Luther King to me was someone who broke down racial barriers every time he spoke. He was a true leader that led with his acts of courage and his demanding presence whenever he took the podium.

I credit a lot of where I am today to King's efforts and appreciate the fight he fought until he was sadly taken away from us. He's part of the reason why I can attend a university, live in a non-segregated area, and have equal rights.

If  King was alive today, I'd tell him thank you and the dream that he has once had, has finally become a reality.

Rebel without a pause

By Zachary Lucas

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is probably one of the most under-celebrated holidays in the United States. King is an American icon, someone that should be heard more about in our schools and churches.

King wasn't fighting for my civil rights, but everything he preached is universal. The things he said don't apply exclusively to black Americans. He preached loving your fellow human beings and judging people not based on their race or creed but on their moral fiber, and who can't relate to that?