Fading Dreams, Dividing Realities - America after MLK, Jr.

Today, January 20, 2020, America celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - a Federal Holiday, observed since 1983, on the third Monday of January, to honor the birth of the slain African American Civil Rights Leader.

In the 52-years since the assassination of Dr. King, his dreams of racial equality in the United States (US), remain non-realized. Instead, today, America faces a stark divide stoked by fallible rhetoric from the Executive, a rise in hate crimes, a widening right wing agitation and a continuing insatiable appetite for firearms.

Homelessness, economic inequality, gun violence, a disproportionate number of jailed African Americans and an unprotected environment, remain prominent in the US, in 2020. 

These realities are not surprising given the lackluster significance attached to the MLK holiday. Though, a Federal Holiday, some states like Arizona, even fought not to recognize the honor of Dr. King. Of all the Federal Holidays in the US, it appears that more employers expect their workers to ploy on Martin Luther King Day, than on any other holiday. 

In many Black communities across America, they have attempted to embrace the legacy of Dr. King by designating the Holiday as a day of Community Service to "empower individuals, strengthen communities, bridge barriers, create solutions to social problems, and move closer to Dr. King's vision of a "Beloved Community"."

But there can be no "Beloved Community" in America without the impartial cooperation of the Executive. There can be no realization of a "Beloved Community" under an atmosphere of division and persistent hate. 

Therefore, if America wants to honestly honor the dreams of MLK, then America must insist, demand and act to establish an impartial cooperative and non-dividing Executive.