He had a dream...

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s home, where he was
born and raised, on Auburn Ave.

Today, my Christian Lifestyles and Values class visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. Aside from the stress of trying to navigate across six lanes of traffic in downtown ATL in a 15-passenger van with dual-ies, it was a trip that made me think. Inside the Visitor Center, guests can watch a documentary about his home and walk through an exhibit with 6 mini-films about several aspects of MLK's life and the Civil Rights Movement.

Growing up in a conservative southern Christian school, racism is something that was never really discussed or addressed. The only knowledge I had of racism was my parents' racist, slanderous comments often uttered in frustration or annoyance at someone of color. I know my parents are not hateful, and I know that in everyday life, they would not judge someone of a different race. I think it emerges in anger because it is how they grew up. Their parents used the "n"-word, and now they use it, thinking little of it. I have always hated the word, and do not under any circumstances use it, but today I watched clip after clip of people using the word as they bombed "colored" churches, homes, businesses, and even schools. They saw nothing wrong with their actions; in fact, they considered them to actually benefit the world around them. In today's society this blows my mind. It is nearly impossible to imagine a segregated society. I am so incredibly grateful for this; I have never truly known the hatred of racism like those in the Civil Rights Movement.

M.L. and his wife are buried beside
his father's church, Ebenezer Baptist
Church, which is still a growing body
of believers today on Auburn Ave.

M. L. died fighting for the things in which he believed. How often today do we back down the first time someone disagrees with us? If today taught me anything, it is that one person can help to effect a great deal of change. I accepted today as a challenge to appreciate the changes that have been brought in society, and to help provoke others to continue to make changes regarding the injustices in the world.