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MLK Day

January 19, 2010 Bill Easum 0 Comments

I just heard some reports that attendance at most of this year’s MLK rallies and marches was way down. While in the restroom at the hospital this week I heard a man say to another man, “I don’t understand what this Martin Luther King Day is all about. Why do we have it?”

MLK Day

King started a movement and most movements begin to wane when the founder of the movement dies. So I’m not surprised that attendance is way down. Nor am I surprised at the young man’s remark. He wasn’t alive when King was killed and now we have a Black at President. People have short memories.

But still it is important to keep a dream alive and front and center. How did your church celebrate MLK Day and how did you use it to reach the least, last, and lost?

I’m almost 71 now.  I remember long hauling it in 18 wheelers in the summer for my father to put myself through college. Some of the trips were so long they would send Wash along with me to help drive.  Wash was a 250 lb black man who became a good friend during those trips. But I still remember having to go into the restaurant and bring food out to Wash because he wasn’t allowed in.

I remember one trip to Mississippi. Wash was scared the entire trip. So I learned firsthand what King was willing to die for. I wish I could pass that on to young people today. That’s why we need a MLK Day – to remember.
Question: How do you celebrate MLK Day? Share your ideas in the Comments section below.

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