HENDERSON: The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In this Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016, image made from video, Clarence Henderson, a participant in the Feb. 1, 1960, sit-in at a Greensboro, N.C., Woolworth lunch counter, speaks at a campaign event in High Point, N.C., in support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Henderson has been criticized for his stance, with many taking to Twitter to accuse him of abandoning the principles he fought so hard for more than half a century ago. (AP Photo/Alex Sanz)

As we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. let us remember who he was and what he represented. He was a great civil rights leader advocating for equality. He believed that people should be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.    

This idea united Americans around the self-evident truths that underpin this nation and it is the same idea that caused the emergence of the Woolworth Sit-in that I participated in. Why were both of these necessary? If you look at American history with open eyes, the reason is quite obvious. 

When we examine the political parties in our country it is apparent that the Democratic Party was at the forefront of racism in America. Unfortunately, half a century later, they still are. Today Democrats want to make race a central factor in how we treat each other as Americans. They want to divide us based on our identities, not unite us around our common values. 

What do Democrats hope to achieve by promoting this division?  

It certainly isn’t Dr. King’s dream they strive for.  

Dr. King fought for equality under the law and the moral precept of judging individuals by their character and actions, not the pigment of their skin.  It’s no secret that today’s Democrat Party and the modern Woke movement that fuels them do not believe in these principles.  In fact, they openly oppose them. They promote disdain for our fellow Americans based on race, or religion, or even on vaccination status.   

The language the Democrats speak today –  such as critical race theory (CRT), social justice, cancel culture and equity – is used to keep the black community with the mindset that we are victims or survivors when we are neither. We are overcomers, having overcome slavery as well as Jim Crow. 

They are currently using CRT as a way to exploit our educational systems to teach the black community to judge the white community by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character. They are promoting the sin of racism we fought so hard to overcome, and brazenly claiming the moral high ground while doing so. 

This is causing a great divide in America when we should be living according to the words of Dr. King, “Unless we learn to live together as brothers, we will perish together as fools.” 

This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as we see his dream slipping away – being torn away – we Americans must reach deep to find the courage that Dr. King demonstrated.  We must call upon this courage to revitalize his dream – the American Dream – for a world in which we can live together as brothers and sisters, as Americans. A world in which we are judged by our merit, where the principle of equality under the law and the God-given rights of man reign supreme over sinister calls for ‘equity’ and radical justice.   

In 2022, we must remember the true legacy of Dr. King and find the courage to reject any movement or government that would divide us in the name of racism.