Monday, January 17, 2005

 

Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. by an Iranian Immigrant


The Wall Street Journal online features a moving column (free registration required) by an Iranian Immigrant, who began to be reconciled with her new home through the words of Dr. King:
Today, in the distant corners where terror is raging, many teenagers hold views on America similar to those I once held. The enemy has an arsenal, but also a narrative. According to that narrative, the world's superpower represents only one race, and its history is a single tale of intolerance, arrogance, and domination. The war against this enemy is impossible to win without defeating that narrative. To tell American history in its entirety is to disprove the fabrications about who an American is. To tell the story of the Civil Rights Movement is to tell the story of how arrogance was made to give way to justice by none other than a man who advocated peace. Against the grim and infallible image that is painted of America, this will be a truer portrait: colorful and human.
We still have a long way to go in race relations in this country, and we should not minimize that. We should also not minimize, however, that we have come a long way from the dark days of slavery, Jim Crowe and segregation. To fail to recognize our progress would be to fail to recognize the sacrifices of those like Dr. King, who gave their all for the dream.


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