Got MLK?

On this national holiday celebrating the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, I would be remiss if I did not remind all not only of the words of this great orator, but also those of The Great Accomodator, Booker T. Washington. The "I Have a Dream" speech is one of the greatest speeches of the 20th century, but Dr. King only addresses one aspect of racial equality and not the entire scope needed to attain true equality. He states "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." Since the civil rights era of the 1960's this has been attained with a few exceptions (racial bias will never be truly eliminated from any peoples as individuals are prone to shortcomings in themselves).
However, in society today, there is still a wide gap economically between races. Why? Mr. Washington addresses this when he states, "No race that has anything to contribute to the markets of the world is long in any degree ostracized. It is important and right that all privileges of the law be ours, but it is vastly more important that we be prepared for the exercise of these privileges. The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is worth infinitely more than the opportunity to spend a dollar in an opera-house." Mr. Washington spoke many times on two aspects of equality-racial and economic- and that it was the duty of the "Negro" to prepare himself to be economically equal as well as socially. He was afraid that his race would not aspire to become educated and able to do the duties and works equal to that of a white man, and that still holds true. Why are their a disproportionate number of African-Americans on welfare? The educational opportunities are there but a person has to take the initiative and want that education so that they may better themselves. This does take effort and hard work and time! This is what Booker T. Washington feared most of his people and in my opinion, he would turn in his grace over a holiday given in honor of an African-American in which his children stay home from school instead of taking education to its hight and pinnacle!
Let us not forget on this great holiday that it is up to every individual to do something with their lives and to change the past. To become educated, to become productive, and to become an essential part of society. Only then will true equality be achieved and mankind can move forward toward a true world peace.