To our loyal readers and to all whom it may concern,
I have always believed that the United States was an uncommon land. One that was uniquely founded in order to give all people a place they could call home and be free. It was the haven for the Puritans fleeing religious persecution; it was and still is the place where people came to seek out new opportunities; it is the place where our ruler was law, and law was our own. Our leaders were our own fellow citizens, and enshrined within the Declaration of Independence were the words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” That is what America was always destined to become.
However, her sons and daughters have not always kept close to that vision. Southern slave states fought during the ratification of the Constitution to protect the institution of slavery, and after emancipation in 1863 and abolition in 1865, Jim Crow laws began to be slowly enacted in the South to further divide Americans based off the color of their skin, particularly with the focus of making Black Americans second class citizens, and of preventing total enforcement of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. To this day, even, we still fight with the aftershocks of slavery and segregation in all parts of America — north and south, east and west.
On this day, 95 years ago, one Martin Luther King Jr. would be born to Martin and Alberta King in Atlanta, Georgia. After becoming a pastor, his role within America’s fight for civil rights cannot be understated. Through his campaign of peaceful protest, and his reactions to subsequent hate and police actions to them like Bloody Sunday, and in Birmingham, Alabama, Martin Luther King showed America and the world the ugly horrors of racism and its impact on its citizens. Martin Luther King was a son of America who was able to bring together people of many races, religions, ethnicities and partisans for a common purpose of freedom and civil rights. Through his example, we can model how we should continue to heal the scars in American that have not fully healed.
As we move forward as a nation, let us stand together as one. Let us embody the memory of Martin Luther King as we remind ourselves that we are all Americans. A cut in any of our hands will bleed the same color, and in our efforts to embody the founder’s vision of America, we are all sons and daughters of America. When we divide ourselves based off uncontrolled physical attributes or beliefs on policy, we become weak. That weakness leads to ignorance, which leads to fear, which leads to anger, and anger leads to violence. I would encourage you all to learn from your fellow beings and to fight for them when he or she is oppressed. To truly embody what Martin Luther King wrote while confined in Birmingham Jail, “We must come to see with the distinguished jurist of yesterday that ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied.’”
As we honor his memory and contributions to this great nation, let us not forget where America has gone and what some of her sons and daughters have done to impede the freedom of their siblings. Through our united front, we can truly embody what Thomas Paine said during the darkest days of the American revolution: “We have it in our power, to begin the world over again.” Fight for your brother, fight for your sister, fight for this nation to be the citadel of freedom and light in the world. To be a place where all can call home, and to be a place where all can pursue happiness.
Thank you all for your continued support; without you our paper would cease to exist. God Bless You all, and Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
Sincerely,
Matthew V.L. Drachman
Editor-In-Chief of The UVU Review
