“Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It’s a holiday here,” my mother texted me this morning from the U.S.
I’m glad that she reminded me. Living on the other side of the world, I almost forgot.
How could I forget? Do my children remember? Did my kids talk about him today at their American school here in Spain?
Dare we forget!
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, sometimes referred to as MLK Day is an American federal holiday. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year. King’s birthday is January 15.
Wikipedia
Today is the third Monday of January. Back in my home country—the United States of America—most people are off work, kids are out of school, many businesses and stores are closed.
Oblivious and Ignorant
Here in Spain, and the rest of the world, life carries on as usual—oblivious and ignorant. Have we forgotten? Perhaps we have never known.
For those of you who may not know who Martin Luther King Jr. is, it’s not too late to learn. It’s not too late to put on your cultural awareness lenses and look back at the road of history.
King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King’s honor began soon after his assassination in 1968.
Wikipedia
For many, when you hear “Martin Luther King Jr.,” the first thing that comes to mind is his world
What was his dream?
—”I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
—”I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.”
—”I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'”
Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of a day of equality, of unity in cultural diversity, of freedom, of human rights . . .
He Dreamed of “Weaving Cultures”!
Here are some of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.
— “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”
— “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. I have decided to stick to love . . . . Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
— “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
— “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.”
— “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
— “We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
— “People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.”
— “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”
— “We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the path like brothers.”
— “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable . . . Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle: the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”
I Dream Too!
That’s why I started writing cultural stories. Like Martin Luther King Jr., I, too, dream of seeing a world of equality, of unity in cultural diversity, of freedom, of human rights . . .
I dream of seeing the world “weave cultures.”
Come dream with me!
That’s why I scream at the top of my lungs and fight for the rights of “The Strawberry Girls” who become victims of sex trafficking when they come over to pick strawberries in the fields of Spain. That’s why I do what I do. That’s why Martin Luther King Jr. did what he did.
Let’s keep dreaming of freedom for every human being and never stop!
It’s January—don’t forget it’s Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month!
Dare we forget, and dare we die ignorant and silent!
—THE CULTURAL STORY-WEAVER
MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—”THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
LET’S WEAVE CULTURES!
What about you? Do you dream of seeing a world of equality, of unity in cultural diversity, of freedom, of human rights . . . If so, what are you doing about it? Check out our project, “The Strawberry Girls,” and join us in our fight!
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures”! Write about them in the comment box below.
