Essay: Happy Birthday, MLK

Editor’s Note: This edited essay won First Place in the 2016 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay Contest.

I hope I am not the only one wondering what the world would be like if Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was still alive and advocating the importance of love and justice.

What if we did not celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday? I can continue pondering about the “what if’s” but it is more important to focus on the impact that is alive today. We all know him as the man who powerfully claimed that he had a dream.

It took one individual to start the “Let love and justice roll” movement, but it takes nations to make the dream happen. Dr. King was not only the catalyst for the civil rights movement, he also served as a catalyst for a global movement that revolved around love and justice.

Dr. King’s constant face-to-face encounters with adversity did not hinder him from delivering his message of “Let love and justice roll.”

Four days before his assassination, he delivered a speech in front a population that gathered in Wall Street because they were being oppressed in their work environments. He stated proudly, “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Reading this quote showed me that Dr. King was well aware of how long our world would take to reflect morals and justice because until this day, we are still fighting for justice to be served. The only way to overcome this grand obstacle is by exemplifying love and justice.

This is why every new year, we celebrate his life and his works. Most importantly, we are reminded of the love and justice that we must encourage to roll globally. Jan. 18 should not be the only day that we stop and think about his powerful doctrine, everyday we live should be taken as an opportunity to let love and justice roll.

This story was originally published January 17, 2016 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Essay: Happy Birthday, MLK."