Honoring the Dream that Dr. King Was
By Local 2195 Webmaster John Davis

On Monday January 15, 2007 the United States will once again observe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This will be the 21st observation of the national holiday, signed into law in 1983 with the first national recognition taking place in 1986.

The UAW has a long history with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the struggle for Civil Rights. Former UAW President Walter Reuther met Dr. King in 1959 and the two became instant friends. Their friendship would prove to be advantageous for the Civil Rights movement, with the addition of the support of the UAW and its membership. The UAW became an ardent supporter of the cause at the urging of Walter Reuther and the two men would work together to forge a new chapter in race relations in the United States. To learn more about Dr. King and the UAW, click here to read his story on the UAW Region 8 Activist Hall of Fame.

In the 39 years since Dr. King was assassinated, just how much of Dr. King’s dream has be realized? How far have we come as a society in terms breaking down the barriers of tyranny and injustice? Has the dream that America is being realized for all who wish to partake of it? Sadly, these questions do not have a satisfactory answer.

We must realize that while Dr. King verbalized his dream in his immortal address on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he was speaking for all man kind. The famous “I have a Dream” address was a collected thought- a prayer if you will for all people. There are those who would state that Dr. King spent his life working in service to one particular race of people, but his efforts and impact spread beyond African Americans; his cause was the race of man – regardless of the color of their skin. See his dream was that America could live up to its creed that ALL men are created equal.

If all men are created equal, then why do so many remain in poverty? Why do so many children go to bed each night hungry? Why are so many still oppressed? Why are so many shut out of the promises of the future? Why are so many denied the medical care their tax dollars paid to develop? Why do so many still stand outside our halls of higher learning and watch as a privileged few enter the doors to growth and prosperity?

Where along the path did we lose our way? At what point did the working class decide they had evolved to the point where we could stop fighting for our stake in the promise that America is? At what hour did we feel that our efforts had risen us to the ranks of the elite and so we could cast aside the tools of justice and turn or attention to cashing the checks of growth?

An ancient Greek proverb states “those who the God’s wish to destroy they send 50 years of prosperity.” While the plight of the working class did not see 50 years of prosperity, sometimes it appears the growth that was seen made us complacent. We became satisfied once we reached the point where we owned a home; when we had health insurance; when our children had enough to eat; unfortunately, once we realized the American Dream we rested on our laurels and forgot those who lingered just behind. The “I got mine” mentality saw the decline of advancement both in this country and abroad. However, society is always in a state of upheaval either progressing or digressing. The 1980s saw the slowing of the American middle class as the decade of greed began to place barriers to the progress of the past. The 1990s followed with the introduction of trade deals that not only eliminated the jobs of many in this country, but also took advantage of the people in the countries where the jobs moved to. The shift of wealth began from the top to the bottom. To begin with it was just those whose livelihood was considered menial who saw the effect. Many of stood further up the middle class chain ignored their plight, feeling buffeted from the progression. However, once the tide of justice turns and the waves of deceit begin there are no boundaries. The slide of the working class began as more and more were swept away in this rushing surge of outsourcing. As a result we find ourselves returned to a situation where the dream that America is stands far out of grasp for more and more.

Even within the cause of labor there are many who are willing to mortgage the future rather than stand and fight today. We as a nation feed the war machine while allowing children to go hungry. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was a solider long before he held the office of president. However, even with his military background Eisenhower stated that “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed.” Dr. King also stated that “Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism.”

As the nation once again pauses to remember a man who gave his life for the race of man, what can we do to honor his memory? Speeches and memorials are fine, but the greatest tribute to Dr. King would be to continue his work; to step into the path he chose and to take up the fight for all who labor under the weight of injustice. A dream never dies as long as those who remain believe in that dream. Dr. King stood on the mountain top and gazed into the promised land and in his great “I Have Been to the Mountain Top” speech on the eve of his death, he prophesized that he may not go there with us. An assassin’s bullet prevented Dr. King from entering that Promise Land but many of us where fortunate enough to enter the land that flowed with milk and honey. We witnessed the growth of all people and felt the rays of change. However, our complacency allowed the clouds of injustice to block the sun and return the cold days of oppression. But, we can never give up the dream; we can never say the battle is over; we can never allow the seeds of despair to grow the thorns of denial. It is our plight, it is our responsibility, it is our destiny to continue the work of this great man. In doing so, we honor his memory, his work and his legacy in a way far greater than a holiday even can.