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an open letter to Dr. Martin Luther King

Right Reverend, Ph.D, brother, King. if i had just one question to ask, i would ask what do you think of us? and by us i don't necessarily mean African Americans, i mean all 7 billion of us walking the planet's floor. an extension of that question would be, how do we measure up to your dream of what is possible for humanity? is the love and peace that you prayed for and taught us about more evident now than it was 50 years ago?

now, pardon me for believing that one question would suffice. you know how one thing leads to another thing and that thing leads to the truth. you see Dr. King, although we've come thus far, so far that we have elected an African American as our nation's leader for a second time, it still worries me that the hatred of racism has become more insidious. it lies, like a hidden snake waiting to uncoil and strike. the poison that you so despised and fought to eradicate is still around. it killed James Anderson recently in a parking lot in Jackson, MS. it wasn't old klansman who lynched him. they were young, younger than me. what has become of us?
50 years after you marched for us and offered us the hope of your dream, we still face oppression. and by us, i mean the homosexual community, women, and yes, people who are not white and male.

peace is still on the periphery of our existence, waiting patiently for us to say enough. too many lives have been stolen, from the gunned down youth in Chicago to the children in Newtown. In this country and abroad, people are dying daily from violence, poverty, and discrimination. we have become less human. we have become desensitized to the chaos and by doing nothing, we have become partakers in this unholy communion.

our greatest sin is that we are too afraid to speak up and out against the injustices that have become commonplace. we are afraid to live. we are even more so afraid to die for something we believe in. see, Dr. King, i know you knew that your death was imminent and unavoidable. crucified on a balcony in Memphis, TN., may you be resurrected in our hearts and minds. may the wisdom that you received up there on that mountaintop be made readily available to us. let us be the reality of your dream for peace and love and goodwill on earth. you, our King, our black Moses, we your Joshuas —male and female, black and white, gay and straight— guide us to our promised land.

with more than hope,
jehrod alain

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