On Monday, the weather in Memphis was beautiful. So, as I like to do when it's nice outside, I went out and sat on our porch swing and read a book.
Monday also happened to be a holiday to remember the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
As I sat on my porch and read, I also watched the kids play in the park across the street. At one point, one of the kids we've gotten to know came over, walked up onto our porch, and told me about his new orange arm cast and about the fall he had taken while playing at the park a few days ago. He described in great detail how he had broken two of his fingers. He also bragged about the fact that he didn't cry (He later told me that he did cry, but only just a little). When he left, he told me to enjoy the rest of my day - and I told him to do the same.
It was a simple, everyday kind of interaction - nothing to make a big deal about. But I think we often forget the power of those simple interactions.
I got to thinking about all of the struggles in our city - racism, segregation, poverty - there are so many issues with so much history behind them. Sometimes I get depressed just thinking about it all.
Yet, in the midst of all of the negative, it's easy to forget the simple triumphs of Dr. King. No, the world is not yet set right - there is still plenty of hate to go around and racism lingers around like a bad cold.
But on Monday, for whatever reason, I just wanted to remember the beauty of what Dr. King has done.
Through his life, Dr. King set in motion a series of events that now affords me the chance to sit on my porch and talk to the kids in my neighborhood without the color of their skin factoring into the situation at all. Maybe that doesn't sound like much, but I believe it is. I believe the largest human injustice issues in the world today will only be conquered by small human interactions that begin with a foundation of equality. I believe the mission of Dr. King begins on my front porch.
We talk so often of the freedom from oppression that African Americans now enjoy thanks the life of Dr. King and there is no doubt that this freedom must be celebrated.
But sometimes I think we forget the freedom that Dr. King's life has provided to those of us who might have found ourselves in the realm of the oppressor. Today I have the freedom from this realm - freedom from the pressure to hate or look down on another human being, simply because of their skin color. Today I am free to love my neighbor more fully.
Today, I too am free because of the life of Dr. King.
"Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
