Today is an important day in the United States. It’s the day we celebrate the life and struggles of a great man some of you (or most of you) have heard of before: Martin Luther King, Jr. But, today, I’m not going to celebrate. I’m going to say thank you.
Thank you, Martin Luther King, Jr., for struggling and fighting against oppression, for putting yourself in the middle of it all and making the world better for it.
Thank you for making sure the world I live in today is the one it is and not the one it could be. Without you, your friends, and the many others who participated in your movement (and even before it), I would be forced to live in a world where it is okay to hate people based on skin color and where oppression is still the dominant mode of discourse and law.
Thank you for your amazing words, for never giving up, and for reminding us that great men come in all shapes and sizes, from all kinds of backgrounds. Thank you, also, for proving that sometimes violence isn’t the answer, and that one can make a difference by showing compassion.
Thank you, Martin Luther King, Jr., for everything.
