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Mayor remembers and honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

Mayor Steve Martin

Mayor Steve Martin

–Today, we remember and honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It takes a long time to say the words: “Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” Maybe that’s why we’ve abbreviated it to “MLK.” It takes a long time to tell his story, too – too long to tell in one little blog. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a day to take all the time we need to do just that.

As a person who lived when he lived and saw his efforts unfold on national media, it is sobering to realize how many of our citizens today see him as “history.” So much of who he was lives on today. So many have been affected by the things he and his contemporaries strived for including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. So many have mourned his assassination on April 4, 1968. How many fewer pages of history would there be if he had never lived? How many more pages of history would there be if had not died so tragically?

Several years ago my family and I took a trip to Washington D.C. It is the only time I have stood in our nation’s capitol. I wanted to see everything and I experienced a profound presence of our American history. One of the places I most wanted to visit was the Lincoln Memorial. I wanted to find the very place where MLK stood when he delivered his historic “I Have A Dream” speech on Aug. 28, 1963. On a rainy evening, I found the commemorative stone set in the steps leading up to the monument and I stood where he stood. I looked out over the dark and empty National Mall where a quarter of a million had gathered to hear “I have a dream…” It would take a long time to explain how I felt.

Each year fewer and fewer of us remember the days when MLK walked the earth. Fewer and fewer remain who were there that day in our nation’s capitol to hear him speak. That’s why, on MLK Day and every day, we need to remember more, learn more and teach more. And, yes, we need to dream more.

So, let’s take all the time we need to do that. Let’s take the time to remember the work that has been done. Let’s take the time to learn about the challenges that still remain. Let’s take the time to say, along with him “I have a dream…”

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It’s a lot to say. Let’s say it.

From the blog of Mayor Steve Martin

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