Remembering Dr. King

The South, more than any other region, needs to remember the life work of Dr. Martin Luther King, writes GwinnettForum's Elliott Brack. Local governments should honor him gratefully, he says.

After all, it was by the continued efforts and leadership of Dr. King that the South (and at the same time the entire nation) recognized the immorality and harmful effects of segregation, then threw off these shackles to assure legal civil rights for all.

Dr. King, by his moral leadership and position that segregation was simply Biblically wrong, released this nation from the limits that it had imposed on itself, and many people, in the past.

Though racism still rears its ugly head from time to time, it's now viewed with general hostility. Today's it is universally recognized that the one individual who unleashed this new wave of freshness in our society was this minister from Atlanta, a person who was able to show us all that turning the other cheek was stronger than the laws of the south of that day. Dr. King's inspired non-violent approach to the war on segregation is a message of peace, redemption and hope that has not only inspired our nation, but the entire world.

So it is fitting that the United States honors him and his memory with a holiday. Unfortunately, some people do not honor that special day which gave the South new hope for all. While you would expect some die-hard, perhaps Confederate-flag waving reactionaries would be included in this lot; unfortunately, some local governments and institutions are included in the list of those not honoring the King holiday.