“This is not a black holiday; it is a people’s holiday,”
Coretta Scott King after President Ronald Reagan signed the King Holiday Bill into law on Nov. 2, 1983.

Today we, as Americans, honor the life and remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is a solemn day because Dr. King lived his life to fight the oppression and the racism that plagued America during the 1950s and 1960s. He gave speeches, lead marches and even went to prison in an effort to break this curse that had a stronghold on the American culture from the beginning of slavery. He had a dream where people of all colors and backgrounds would come together and live in peace and harmony. Unfortunately, King’s life ended prematurely by an assassin’s bullet in April 1968 while he was in Memphis, fighting for the rights of striking sanitation workers.

JT standing in front of The Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King was assassinated.

With the racism and oppression that is so deeply rooted in American culture, we need to come together to break these strongholds and find a way where Dr. King’s Dream is no longer a dream, but a reality. Today, hopefully all Americans are reflecting on the Dr. King’s fight and struggles to make America a country that was described in the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal, regardless of their skin color. We all have a part to play in this together. Racism is not a black problem or a white problem. It is a spirit problem that needs to be  broken; and it will take prayer, intercession and effort from everyone.

We need to sit down with people of all colors and backgrounds and find the thread that binds us together as Americans. We all bleed red. We often look at reasons why we cannot get along or look at our differences to keep us a part. But, I know that if we sit down and took the time to communicate, we could find at least one or two things that we have in common. It could be something as simple as sports.

Many Americans, no matter their background, have a passion for a specific sport and claim a favorite team. I challenge you to sit down with someone who does not look like you and see if you can find that common thread. It may be that you have the same favorite team. The both of you might been life-long fans of the Pittsburg Steelers. Or, it might be that you dislike the same team. You might have a strong distaste for the New England Patriots. There is nothing like bonding a friendship over your passion for football: talking about your favorite players, last year’s draft picks, last week’s game, or talking about how much you despise the team who won the last year’s Super Bowl.

Give it a chance. We are not much different if we take the time to find the similarities. So often, we only look at the surface. But if we take the time and dig a little deeper, you will find that bond that can bring you together to a lasting and enduring friendship. And then Dr. King’s Dream will be come lasting reality.