What MLK Day Means Today

Happy Martin Luther King Day.

I love Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, and the other great leaders of the civil rights movement. Leaders like these are almost legendary now, and almost nobody in the mainstream dares to challenge their actions.

But these civil rights pioneers repeatedly and overtly defied the laws that governed this land in the 50s and 60s, laws that were duly-enacted and democratically-approved. But civil rights leaders defied and fought these laws because they saw them as racist and unfair. They broke the laws that held them and their children back from the great opportunity of America that they could envision in their dreams.

Today, a different group of people is battling against racist laws and racist people. Each year, thousands of immigrants from Mexico will fight across walls, deserts, vigilantes, and laws as they seek to reach the land of opportunity so they can make better lives for themselves and for their children.

What is so different about these two struggles which at their core are the same struggle of opportunity and equality vs. the rule of law? Hindsight shows us that those who oppress, those who prejudge, and those who exclude will not be rewarded for their efforts. Nobody gets a warm fuzzy feeling when they look at pictures of police officers turning dogs loose on the crowds or fire fighters hosing them down. Nobody looks up to Strom Thurmond for his world-record 24 hours and 18 minutes filibuster of the 1957 Civil Rights Act. Likewise, I doubt that many in the future will fondly remember Rush Limbaugh for his violent objection to what he calls “amnesty.” INS agents who split up families are not destined for our nation’s hall of fame. These people are on the wrong side of history here.

What does Martin Luther King Day mean today? To be sure, there is still a great struggle for Black equality in America. But King’s message and his dream apply to other marginalized people also. America is great because it has been a beacon of opportunity for so many people for so many years. Walls and harsher laws are not going to keep this country great. We should uphold the rule of law, but not just for its own sake. When the rule of law is hurtful and damaging to many people and to the fabric of our nation, we need to change our laws. That is what Martin Luther King Day means today.