Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is celebrated every year on the third Monday in January.  A Civil Rights leader, author, and speaker in the mid 1950s up until his assassination in 1968, MLK inspired Americans to stand up and protest equal rights for all.

King Jr. delivered  his famous “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, supported and encouraged the Memphis Sanitation Worker Strike, gave leadership to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and organized protests in the Birmingham Boycott. He was instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement, and without his courage and leadership, African-Americans and minorities may still be sitting at the back of the bus.

Obtaining  civil rights for all in America was immensely difficult during that time, especially in the South where Jim Crow laws mandated “separate but equal” facilities – from drinking fountains and bathrooms to restaurants and schools.  ]

When facing extreme violence, MLK kept his protests peaceful. At that time, Theophilus Eugene Connor, the white  Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, used his cruel tactics to get protesters off the streets.  “Bull” Connor, as he was known, ordered the use of hoses and attack dogs to prevent the protests. As dogs attacked the African-American protesters, and policemen used powerful fire hoses to discourage them, they remained peaceful, inspiring others to rally to their cause.

Before his assassination in April of 1968, King,  gave a speech detailing how fighting for equal rights was like climbing a mountain, and that he did not believe he would live to see the peak, but that we would climb to the top one day. Soon after the speech, he was shot and killed. With  MLK Day taking place earlier this month, it’s worth asking ourselves, “Are we close to reaching the peak?”

In those 50 years since King’s assassination, America has made great strides. The Jim Crow laws were abolished during the Civil Rights Act of 1964, African-Americans were given equal opportunity to attend colleges and receive equal pay in their employment thanks to legislation supporting affirmative action, and Barack Obama became the first African-American president of the United states. However, we still have a long way to go.

Take last August’s  tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia, for example, where counter-protesters marched against a white nationalist rally. One of the white supremacists barrelled his car into the crowd of counter-protestors, injuring 19 people and killing one woman, 32-year-old Heather Dyer. A neo Nazi-led protest against the destruction of a Robert E. Lee statue was held last year. In Baltimore in 2015, riots broke out as result of police brutality when the suspect, Mr. Freddie Gray, was beaten and arrested. Three of his vertebrae were broken and his voice box crushed. He died of his injuries a week later. The six policemen in the car with ray were charged and brought to justice.

In the NFL, some players have knelt during the national anthem to peacefully bring attention to police brutality and the unfair treatments of African-Americans.

 Events such as these are grim reminders that racial violence and persecution still occur today.

However, King’s legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of Americans today. . “Dr. King taught us that we can make our great nation a better place through non-violent community action to solve problems,”said Head of Middle School Mr. Charles Hagy.

Added seventh grader Ryan Motto, “His greatest accomplishment was  his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech because of the amount of people it motivated.”

King’s message of equality, peace, and love are important messages, especially to those students here at the Middle School who are constantly reminded about their responsibility to make good choices and, in the famous words of TBS cofounder Mrs. Nancy Benjamin,  “be kind, be kind, be kind.”

“We honor Dr. King’s work to bring freedom and justice to all through this national day of service to those in need in our community – a reminder that we need to serve and take care of one another all year long,” said  Hagy.

Martin Luther King jr. is still an American icon today and remains a beacon of equality, and it’s especially important to remember his message because we are definitely climbing the peak, but we still have a long way to go.