History is Always Happening Around Us
January 19, 2009
Today is officially Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States.
When I was a kid my daughter’s age, it wasn’t a holiday. We had President’s Day - always the 3rd Monday in February, it took the place of the former federal holiday of George Washington’s birthday (February 22nd) and while there were attempts to get it to also celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday (February 12th) the federal holiday apparently still just commemorates Washington. Different states “do” it differently – but that’s kind of how states are.
Whatever the case, since it’s a Federal holiday, it meant that the post office didn’t deliver mail, the banks were all closed, the stores all ran sales, and school kids got an extra day off in the middle of the year.
Somewhere in the middle of the Reagan years (1983) the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day bill got signed into law by the president – setting aside the 3rd Monday in January as a Federal holiday (Dr. King’s actual birthday was January 15th.) First celebrated officially in 1986, I was long out of public school and when it became a reality, all I was thinking about was that “there was no way that businesses, schools, and other organizations were going to go for one 3 day weekend in January and another one a month later in February after they’d already lost January 1st to the post-Amateur-Night-Out hangover holiday.”
I was right and here we are 23 years later with no consistent practice. Some places give their employees MLK day off. Some give them Presidents Day. Some give them neither. A small percentage give them both, but mostly only banks and private schools. There is still no mail delivery – unless you count Fed-Ex and UPS.
The thing is, I was so clueless back then. This holiday? It’s more than a 3-day weekend-no-work-or-school-opportunity. Not unlike every other Federal holiday that has been turned into an excuse to skip Monday at work, it was enacted for a reason. The point is to take a day to think about why we honor the day… whether it’s because of our Presidents, or our War dead (Memorial Day) or any other reason – we’re supposed to think about it.
That MLK Day occurs the day before Inauguration Day this year (January 20th since 1933 and the passing of the XXth Amendment) seems a fortuitous happenstance. Tomorrow, we in the U.S. are witnessing the swearing in of the first non-Caucasian President of the United States of America. I’d like to think Dr. King would be smiling if he knew that.
I know. You noticed that I used the phrase “non-Caucasian” above… Not because I’m trying to downplay the fact that he’s our ‘First African-American President’ but because our soon-to-be President Obama represents more than just the African-American citizens – he represents our European-American citizens (his mother was a Caucasian woman of Irish & English descent) – he represents ALL of our minorities, and our young, our old, our rich, our poor, our educated and our disadvantaged. Even those who can’t stand the fact that he’s becoming our President? He represents you too. Because he’s becoming the President of the United States of America.
I know that most of the world will spend the next 4 to 8 years and beyond calling him “our first black President” – but I also hope that someday, that adjective becomes less impressive than his other achievements. I hope that he just becomes “one of our best Presidents ever” instead of people focusing so much on the color of his skin or his gender or something else that he never had any control over.
As Dr. King said so very many years ago “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” I think he would’ve been impressed by the content Obama’s character – I hope I’m right.
Tomorrow, you can find me hanging out at TotallyHer.com – where I’ll be participating in a Community Service Project to in honor of President Obama’s inauguration. I’ll be spending my time learning from these amazing women:
Liz Strauss, Anita Campbell, Kelly Phillips Erb, Jessica Smith, Kelby Carr, Susan Payton, Miranda Marquit, Elizabeth Potts Weinstein, Kelly McCausey, Char Polanosky, Barbara Jones & Wendy Piersall at:
That is when I’m not trying to help out a bit myself (3:30pm EST / 12:30pm PST) or watching the Inauguration ceremonies with my daughter (12:00pm EST / 9:00am PST).
Because I may not have grown up with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – but she will… and she’ll have grown up never knowing what it was like wondering when and if we would reach a day where Dr. King’s dream looked like it might come true.
See you tomorrow. When we watch history being written once again… and if you happen to join me here too.
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8 Responses to “History is Always Happening Around Us”
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Great post! I may not agree with President-elect (and tomorrow we can drop the “elect”) Obama’s stance on a lot of issues, but I am happy to see the day that a minority becomes President. It’s a huge step forward for our country, and one we can be proud of.
And I think it is very appropriate that President Obama will be inaugurated on the day after we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. I think Martin Luther King Jr. would be thrilled!
Loved this post. You’re so right he is a non-Caucasian and it is the way he should be seen.
As an Aussie, knowing that what America does effects the world at large, I pray that he fulfils the hope the world has placed in him.
As a fan of America, and the things it stands for, I say… God Bless America and your new President may he govern for you all.
Beautifully put!! I too remember the days before an MLK national holiday (I was born in ‘67), the hoopla surrounding its implementation, and the subsequent LOSS of meaning since it was finally made official. What a wonderful thing that our daughters get to see things so very differently than we did! I can’t wait for tomorrow morning!
I took an informal poll on Twitter this morning regarding whose kids had school on the 19th. While many reported that their kids’ schools were closed, I was surprised to learn that some counties (not even states!) make the decision about school closings.
I am looking forward to an Obama presidency for so many reasons, but I also admit, never have I feared so for a President’s life.
This is the second mention of the BAD girls thing I’ve heard in two hours, but I can’t figure out why I didn’t hear about it earlier. I have to go check it out.
Glad to know I’m not the only one a bit tired of hearing the color of his skin addressed. I too prefer Non-Caucasian. I mean, me, I’m about as white as they make them! Either way, we’re all still pink on the inside, right? I’m still so confused about when it’s ok to refer to someone as black versus African American. I have “black friends” is what I grew up saying.
You bring up a good point. I also don’t feel Martin Luther King’s dream is truly yet fulfilled because many still keep referring to the President as the first black president. Every time they (the media) say that it makes me twitch because then we ARE STILL judging this man by the color of his skin, NOT by the content of his character.
I, a Caucasian person, DID vote for this person because of the content of his character, NOT the color of his skin.
If we really want to fulfill Dr. King’s visions, let’s just use his new, well-earned, title: Mr. Barack Obama, President of the United States of America. (as opposed to Barack Obama, the First Black President of the United States of America.)
The sooner we get to doing that, the sooner we can truly reflect on MLK day as day to reflect on a dream come true. We’re so much closer now, but we have yet to reach that summit. At least we have hope and yes, I’m sure that would make Dr. King tear up just like I have.
I will never forget what the college prof said back in the ( ahem) 80’s about MLK day.
He said something to the effect of ” we live in strange times, When the right course of action is honored because it is so rare. Can you imagine if we had a holiday for every one who stood up to make injustice,bigotry and narrow mindedness a thing of the past?” We would have a lot fewer work days. I often wonder why they never made a day to honor the women , who so valiantly petitioned an indifferent government for the right to vote? for the right to be heard? Some of you may have grandmothers who remember this auspicious day, but I don’t see us having a susan B anthony day? It is a testament to the focal point of our government that we now have MLK day, now what exactly does this mean?”
I am sure I am paraphrasing, and i am not sure we were in this soc class together, but I always felt that he was pointing out some of the travesties of our political systems, and the fact that it never quite made the mark with it’s efforts.
Maybe it stuck because he was a black man.
~shrug~
nice post – changes are coming.
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