“Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.” ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This quotation is one of many from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech that challenges me, challenges us, with an urgency similar to what someone might feel when they’ve stepped into quicksand and solid ground has disappeared from beneath their feet.
So often we see quicksand swallowing villains in old Western movies, trapping them—conveniently at the perfect time. When sand gets saturated with water, it behaves as a semi-liquid and can easily shift and pull us under. It can consume a person very fast—just as hatred can consume us if we are not careful.
I was raised in Alabama, not far from where in 1963, Dr. King organized a peaceful demonstration for racial equality, but fire hoses and dogs were turned on the demonstrators. Although significant things have changed since that time, I, myself, have experienced some pretty murky quicksand of racial injustice, discrimination against people for the pigmentation of their skin. Our nation STILL has a lot of sink holes, a lot of quicksand that we can help pull each other out of and back onto solid ground.
The time is still NOW as Dr. King mentioned to continue to make an effort to get to that solid ground of brotherhood, where “We the People” means equal opportunities for ALL people who are citizens of this nation. I still believe in King’s dream—that one day there will be a beautiful symphony of our nation joining together, all races, Gentiles and Jews, Protestants and Catholics, in harmony and in agreeance that we are all equal. Let us never grow tired of avoiding the quicksands of racial injustice, but build our foundation on the true Rock, who calls us to love one another.
