As we still bask in the glow of the election of the first Black man as president of the United States, it is jarring to remember that 41 years ago, on April 4, the man whose dream is somewhat embodied in that election had his life cut short by an assassin
As we still bask in the glow of the election of the first Black man as president of the United States, it is jarring to remember that 41 years ago, on April 4, the man whose dream is somewhat embodied in that election had his life cut short by an assassin’s bullet.
The anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is always a somber time. It brings up reminders of all that is wrong with America. It recalls that not everyone in this great nation aspired have lived out the true meaning of its creed.
In Chicago, fires burned whole neighborhoods as citizens wailed in pain that this nation, born to counter oppression and tyranny, was now sinking to its most base character. The realization that a man of peace, a man who carried no weapon but the truth and his own convictions, could be struck down, ignited the flames. The nation mourned, but it was not just a man that died, it was hope that was dimmed.
Chicago still bears the scars of those violent nights and days after the assassination. Blocks of vacant lots mark the spots where anger spilled into the streets. Businesses that were shuttered never returned, and even after 41 years, urban redevelopment has yet to find a way to bring them back.
But the anniversary is also a time to put the gains made in the last four decades in perspective. It is a time to gauge where we’ve traveled as a nation. It is time to see whether we, as a nation, have ascended to the mountaintop that King scaled. It is time to determine if we can see the Promised Land.
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