Martin Luther King Jr. Day was this past Monday and with that day comes a time to reflect. It’s interesting to think about how Dr. King would feel about the state of our world now, almost 54 years after he was assassinated.
Have we made him proud? Have we regressed? We can never truly know the answers to these questions without hearing it directly from King himself, but when you think about the fact it was necessary to start a movement in 2013 called, Black Lives Matter, one could assume that maybe we haven’t come as far as Dr. King would have wished for us.
It’s surprising how much misunderstanding still stands between us day. And those that are passionate about making changes to reduce these misunderstandings usually try and do so in big ways. That’s commendable to be sure, but maybe we should focus more on the small things.
The little steps of neighbors standing up for neighbors, and communities coming together for the good of all their residents, those are the seeds that we need to continue to plant. They may seem small at the time, but people will start noticing, and eventually we will see the changes we so need to see.
A wonderful way to manifest these changes is through storytelling. Listening to each other’s stories is one of the most important things you can do to bridge that gap between fear and understanding. Once you hear about a person’s past and what they have gone through to get where they are today, it becomes so much harder to judge them. You begin to see the person behind the skin.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a storyteller himself; this is why his words were so powerful, meant so much to people and still inspire us today. He presented his arguments through compassion, empathy and imagery that brought his listeners into his world. Through this imagery we connected with him. We put ourselves in the shoes of the storyteller and it forces us to ask, “what would we do?”
We cannot imagine what it’s like to be anything but our own culture, but we all know what it’s like to be human. We all desire the same things; peace, comfort, safety for ourselves and families, and opportunities to make our dreams come true. When you start viewing a person in this matter, it isn’t difficult to see past your own prejudices. Honor Dr. King by taking a moment this month to get to know someone you might not have paid attention to before. You just might see your prejudices slipping away.
