THE LIFE of Martin Luther King Jr. has inspired many to fight racism, ignorance and injustice. But fighting ice is another story.
On Sunday, the ice won.
The occasion was supposed to be Emporia’s seventh community King celebration. But winter in the Flint Hills has a way of changing plans. With sleet in the skies, ice on the roads and a speaker stranded in Kansas City, the event didn’t have a snowball’s chance.
I’m sure we’re not the only ones. And with a killer cold spell hitting the Midwest, I’m also sure a few canceled marches and postponed speeches are the last thing on everyone’s mind right now. But still, it brings up a good question.
Who in their right mind schedules a major holiday in January?
I’ll grant you New Year’s Day. But that’s mostly an indoor holiday where folks can either watch the bowl game or regret the events of Dec. 31. Neither one requires driving in sub-freezing temperatures.
Logistically, it’s crazy. Everybody just finished getting back from Christmas break (or your holiday of choice) only to break the momentum again. No banks. No post office. No kidding.
In fact, the only reason we even hold King Day in January is that it’s King’s birthday. And to my way of thinking, that’s not good enough.
Hear me out.
This is an unusual holiday. It’s one of a few that honors an individual. The only other ones recognized by the feds are Washington’s Birthday, Columbus Day and Christmas. Pretty heavy company.
It’s also one of the few holidays linked to recent history. We’re a little short on pilgrims and Sons of Liberty these days, but there are still plenty of people alive who can remember the great civil rights battles of the 1950s and 1960s. Battles in which King played a very visible role.
He was a fiery man from a fiery climate who specialized in turning up the heat on racists. Why put his holiday in the freezer?
All this of course begs the question: Where do we move it?
Some would put it in February with the rest of Black History Month. It makes some sense -- after all, if King’s life and work wasn’t a pivotal period in black history, what was? But I’ve never been comfortable with the idea of segregating a people’s history to one month out of the year, let alone the shortest month in the year. Plus, February’s not exactly a huge improvement on January. It’s kind of like moving from the slopes of Mount. St. Helens to a house on the San Andreas fault line. The view may have changed, but you’ve still got problems.
No, the best suggestion I’ve heard so far is to move it to the heat of August. And more specifically, to Aug. 28.
That’s the day in 1963 that King spoke the words that would echo across generations:
I have a dream that one day 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.”
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. ...
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.
That’s a day that deserves to be remembered. So why don’t we?
It could be a time when many are called, but few are frozen.
Scott Rochat’s e-mail address is rochat@emporiagazette.com.