Martin Luther King Jr. is someone I’ve admired since I was little. I remember my first encounter with one of the people who would later give sense to the words equality, justice and peace.
Growing up in Puerto Rico, I went to a book fair. I had the opportunity to choose a book I wanted and take it home for free. While I was roaming the library, I found one with a cover showing the face of someone unknown until that moment to me — Martin Luther King Jr.
I came back home and read the book that explained the amazing life of this man. After finishing, I told my mom what I had learned and she further explained to me the importance of King. At the time, I was not completely sure why there would be a book of this man in Puerto Rico. But I remember having this beautiful conversation with my mom — she explained to me who he was, and his impact in the world.
As I fast-forward, here I stand — a 19-year-old college student, working at a newspaper and living in a place where I never imagined I would have ended up. As I experience different emotions daily and learn new things, there is still something that has not changed much — racial and ethnic issues.
When it comes to civil rights, I believe we should be doing better by now. Minorities in this country and around the world are still being marginalized on a daily basis.
As we stay warm in our homes on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, remember the civil rights movement is still up and running, and we need it.
We need a civil rights movement because black males and females — I know, you may not want to hear about it, but I feel the need to talk about it — are being killed by white law police officers.
We need a civil rights movement because there is discrimination against Latinos on a daily basis. The fact that Latinos are being constantly asked to speak English while speaking Spanish with their friends is sickening.
We need a civil rights movement because around the world over the past few days we have seen anti-Muslim protests. Just because a sick group of people decided to use the name of their prophet to kill others does not mean all Muslims have a similar ideology. Remember the white student who went on a shooting spree in University of California - Santa Barbara? It would be as absurd to believe every white male would do the same thing in colleges around the country.
We need a civil rights movement because people are being judged on a daily basis for their sexual orientation and sexual identity. Today, those who identify themselves as members of the LGBT community walk in this country — the home of the free world — without any legal rights, due to the lack of sensitivity and recognition from our government.
With all these things happening, it is hard to think about equality, justice and peace. It is upsetting to think that King was killed because he believed that white kids and black kids should have the opportunity to play together. It is upsetting to think that King was killed because he believed in equality, justice and peace and still, we have all sorts of inequalities, injustices and violent situations.
There is some truth when people say the only thing that’s changed are the chains. In part, it is our fault. It is time for us to become leaders and fight for what we believe in. It is time for us to organize and fight for what we want and what we deserve. We need to be more vocal to create a change. As one of my colleagues told me, we all can be King — we just need to believe in our ability to change the system.
This Monday, please remember that we celebrate a movement and that it is time to bring back a movement that will protect others and will create a systematic change. Martin Luther King Jr. is a movement and we should be thankful for living in a country where that movement started.
Sergio Martínez-Beltrán is a reporter and the staff minority representative with The State News.
