Dear Dr. King

Dear Dr. King -

Today we celebrate your birthday.  You would have been 89 years old today.  I wish you were still here and I wonder how America would be today if you were.  I didn't know you, I wasn't even born when you died, but I've read about you and taught my students about you for years.  I've studied your autobiography and read your letters.  I've marveled at your work and your open mind and your sacrifice.  I've wondered so many times when I'm teaching my students if there is a little Martin in my class...I hope so.  I pray all the time Dr. King, that one of my students would be a great leader and that in some small way, maybe I can contribute to true equality for people in this country. 

I'm a white woman who teaches all Af. Am. and Hispanic children.  I'm aware of what people think and all the misconceptions. I've been called "white" this and that and treated differently because I'm white and even worked in settings where I've been the only one.  I've been asked more than once if I was "light-skinned" by my students and even once by a parent.  I've been called, Mom, Grandma, Auntie ... so many more times than I can even count, by students, which I take as a compliment and I love it because we are that close and they feel that comfortable and don't even see me as someone different.  I've dated all "races."  My sister is married to an African American man and has two beautiful bi-racial children whom I love more than life itself.  I have a few very close friends who are African-American.  Yet, I still don't "get it".  I will never pretend to understand or act as if I know what it's like - years of oppression, years of discrimination, years of racism and the hatred endures, even today.  I won't pretend I understand what it's like to be anything other than white in America.

Today there is still segregation in schools.  There is still discrimination in housing, hiring, admissions, and in the marketplace.  It's illegal, but it still happens.  There are still innocent men and women being incarcerated because of the color of their skin.  There are still people who believe they're superior and that it's unnatural, etc. to mix "races" and act accordingly.  In short, there is so much, Dr. King, that hasn't changed.

However, today, my sister and brother-in-law married with no problems and their marriage is fully legal and recognized by every single state in the union.  Our neighbors are African American.  My niece and nephew attend a school where although it's predominantly white, they are accepted and loved equally by their teachers and friends.  I hug my students every day and we drink from the same fountain and sometimes even share the same food.  Today you can sit anywhere you want on the bus.  We even elected the first African American president and he served two terms. 

We've made progress, Dr. King.  We've come a long way, but the dream has not yet been realized.  The dream of true equality and the dream of being judged solely by the content of one's character rather than the color of one's skin, it's not yet true.  I wish it were.  All I can do is keep going, Dr. King, all I can do is continue loving and believing in the good of us all.

We miss you, Dr. King.  Truly.

Sincerely -
A friend