In honor of Dr. King

I’m again posting from the deep woods instead of the office today in honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday. The Hibbing Daily Tribune has an interesting story about a community outreach effort that I’m involved with at the college where I teach. We help bring a diverse group of college students into the elementary schools to talk about the legacy of Dr. King. Read the story here.

(Hibbing Community College Multicultural Director Sidra) Boutto feels it’s a great idea for communities to build awareness about different cultures, so if a negative life experience with someone who looks differently does happen, race won’t be an issue.

“So much of our community on the Range is one color,” Boutto said. “There are so many kids that have never seen a black person, or even someone who looks very much different than them.”

“We (HCC Outreach) are trying to reach as many people as possible, so the tolerance level for different cultures grows, hopefully.”

The HCC Outreach Movement was formed last year to strengthen the bond between Range communities and HCC by celebrating the cultural diversity of the campus and region.

HCC will hold a “Not a Day Off, but a Day On” celebration and information session in the college commons from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 22.

I was also struck by this story, which highlights the question, “What are we REALLY doing to honor King’s legacy.”

DALLAS, Jan. 21 (UPI) — A Dallas minister who marched with civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., said Monday’s birthday observance holiday is an insult to his legacy.

The Rev. Peter Johnson, 62, director of the Texas operations for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, told The Dallas Morning News the holiday should be on April 4, the anniversary of the date King was assassinated.

“We have ignored the essence of his life and the horror of his death,” said Johnson. “We’ve allowed white America to escape the guilt of his assassination and we’ve allowed black America to drift back into a coma.”Johnson said. King is
considered a martyr by many but said, if he were alive, he would be considered an agitator by many people, the newspaper said.

“We remember him with parades and galas and banquets, things that are really irrelevant and silly regarding Dr. King’s legacy,” he said. “If we really want to honor Dr. King, we should do something about people who live under bridges. That would be a great tribute.”

I wrote a column about the Iron Range and King’s dream last year.

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