Equality Still Eludes Us as We Remember Martin Luther King Jr.
12 Jan 2012
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As we approach another Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, we are reminded of the work that Dr. King did to desegregate schools and his message “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.” When I hear this, I wonder how close we are to achieving it.
Yes, you are not allowed to prevent a child from receiving an education, but are all children receiving the same quality of education? No. I live in Washington, D.C., a city that is only 68.25 square miles. When there is a drastically disproportionate dropout rate in the lower income areas, you cannot say there is equality. When first graders are poring through story books on one side of town and their peers, just a few short miles away, barely understand basic phonics sounds, there is no equality.
Lawmakers no longer justify their blatant inequality on complexion, but instead say that budget cuts and taxes are the reason for such drastic contrast in the make-up of communities. When will we stand up and say “we see your masked sincerity and we don’t want it?” We want true equality. We want the same opportunities to succeed. We want teachers who believe, encourage, and inspire all of our children, not just the kids who live in higher income communities.
And we want parents who have the ability to help their children succeed, who aren’t stuck working long hours to barely make the bills, then seeing every support system disappear from under them because of the same budget cuts that are ruining their child’s education.
Every child should wake up knowing they can be anything they want to be. Every school should have the same resources. Every parent should have the same opportunity. Dr. King said “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.” When the hills and valleys of education are made level, we will begin to live the dream of Dr. King.
Yes, you are not allowed to prevent a child from receiving an education, but are all children receiving the same quality of education? No. I live in Washington, D.C., a city that is only 68.25 square miles. When there is a drastically disproportionate dropout rate in the lower income areas, you cannot say there is equality. When first graders are poring through story books on one side of town and their peers, just a few short miles away, barely understand basic phonics sounds, there is no equality.
Lawmakers no longer justify their blatant inequality on complexion, but instead say that budget cuts and taxes are the reason for such drastic contrast in the make-up of communities. When will we stand up and say “we see your masked sincerity and we don’t want it?” We want true equality. We want the same opportunities to succeed. We want teachers who believe, encourage, and inspire all of our children, not just the kids who live in higher income communities.
And we want parents who have the ability to help their children succeed, who aren’t stuck working long hours to barely make the bills, then seeing every support system disappear from under them because of the same budget cuts that are ruining their child’s education.
Every child should wake up knowing they can be anything they want to be. Every school should have the same resources. Every parent should have the same opportunity. Dr. King said “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.” When the hills and valleys of education are made level, we will begin to live the dream of Dr. King.
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