Dr. King's Legacy
By: Gary Hollander, Ph.D. - Posted on: 1/18/2008

Decades ago Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and scores of African American women and men forged a perspective and, with determined will and cooperation, spread that view of themselves and other African American as powerful and free. The freedom was not just freedom from slavery and its enduring shackles, but was a freedom to build knowledge, expand spirit, and ensure a future of full participation in governance of our nation. The power he espoused was surely political and economic power, but it was not built on politics or the economy. Dr. King and his generation of colleagues used the power of human intelligence and spirit and dignity as the foundation for their work.

Sociopolitical forces have eroded the legacy of Dr. King in the ensuing years. This erosion has affected all of us in the United States and around the world. People who care for justice have work to do and battles to win.

But no battle before us is as important as the one that is Dr. King’s legacy – the battle for our own minds, the battle for our freedom from psychological servitude.

Let’s take a moment during the celebration of Dr. King’s life to ask where we are living within the boundaries of our own mental roadblocks, where we slow down at signs that only exist in our own heads. We can keep his perspective moving forward despite the assaults of the present sociopolitical system.