King legacy reminds of unfinished work

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Forty-eight years ago today, the Rev. Martin Luther King stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall and delivered what has become one of the most famous speeches in American History:

“I have a dream,” he said, “that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.'”

More than a quarter of a million people joined King in that 1963 March on Washington for jobs and freedom - a milestone event in the long, hard road to civil rights.

Then came the Civil Rights Act, then the Voting Rights Act.

And, still, a long, hard road.

As legal barriers to equality have fallen, we're left with inequalities that can be tougher to identify and eradicate.

Nearly half a century after that historic march on Washington, too many of us still struggle to judge others by their character, not the color of their skin.

Eliminating the last vestiges of racism will take more than good intention - more than special ceremonies, or even editorials commemorating civil rights milestones.

It will require more frequent interaction to build relationships of understanding and appreciation for our neighbors - and together, to fight problems and walls of ignorance that persist.

That's why Gazette and KCRG-TV9 staff are meeting this summer with black residents in the Corridor. We want to learn how we can better serve and reflect all segments of our communities and get ideas for increasing the diversity of our own staff.

We're learning a lot - too much to share in a single editorial. The process has just begun.

Perhaps most important so far, we've seen a real hunger in the Corridor for more regular face-to-face interaction among the races, to help eliminate misconceptions and fears that too often flow both ways.

We've got a role to play in that, too, by being mindful of the way we reflect and inform the communities we serve. We have to work at it.

The King memorial is the first on the mall dedicated to a person of color and a non-president. It honors the ideals of freedom and equality, and the people who spent their lives working to realize that dream. It's as much a call to action as a commemorative symbol.

It's as true today as it was 48 years ago, when King cautioned against resting upon the civil rights victories already won:

“This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism,” he said. “Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.”

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