What Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Means to Me

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all having a great day so far. I would like to say, I know I’m off schedule as I like to post on Sundays and I actually was going to post on Sunday but life happened. This actually does work out better though!

January 20th is a day dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr., a legend known for his famous “I have a dream” speech which was delivered in front of nearly 250,000 people! So in honor of this civil rights hero, I wanted to talk about a few things, share a few stories, and get to know a little bit more about this day.

Here are a few facts about MLK and his special day.

• It took 15 years to create this federal holiday.
• It became a federal holiday in 1983 but it was first celebrated in 1986.
• The first state to adopt MLK Day as a holiday is Illinois.
• His birthday is January 15, 1929
• He was a minister as well as a civil rights activist.
• He’s been to jail 30 times for speaking his mind.
• King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968.

As a child, I never experienced full-on racism but I have been in uncomfortable situations. Until I was about 11 years old, I went to 4 different predominately white catholic schools. So you can just imagine little ole’ uneducated me most times feeling out of place. I sometimes used to get comments and questions about MLK day as if I was a young expert.

I’d get questions like isn’t your holiday coming up? Or, how do you celebrate?

Sometimes I let my mind wander and I think about all these crazy scenarios that COULD have been possible. Like what if we had no one to fight for us and make freedom possible. What would my life be like today? Since both my boyfriend and son have white in them. To me, he made it possible to have a family. I’m sure without him interracial relationships for ANYONE would be hard. Hell, it’s still hard and I’m not sure why it’s so hard to be accepted in 2020.

Or what about the amazing friends I have that love and support me despite what I look like. Would this have all been a dream? I can’t imagine what life would be like if we still lived using segregation laws. Thank God, Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream.

A while ago I had the pleasure of visiting the Martin Luther King Memorial at Yerba Buena Gardens Center in San Francisco, California. I specifically remember it being a beautiful day, sun out and all. As soon as I walked through the memorial it was like the day was lost. You are surrounded by inspirational quotes and pictures as well as soothed by the sounds of the waterfall. It was a beautiful experience.

To me, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day means freedom. It means opportunity. Although, I am young and wasn’t even alive at the time. His role in the Civil Rights Movement plays a big part in my life.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

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As always, thanks so much for reading! Questions, comments, and feedback are always welcome. If you enjoyed this post, please comment, like and share! Make sure to check out my Instagram; @T_scorner 💋