Martin Luther King Jr
Airing at 8 p.m. Thursdays on ABC is a six-episode docuseries surrounding the life and death of African American 14-year-old Emmett Till, a young man who traveled from Chicago to Mississippi August 1955 to visit relatives and returned home to his mother dead, unrecognizable and sealed in a wooden box. Accused of whistling at a Caucasian woman — which was factually untrue — he was taken late in the night from his uncle’s home by several Caucasian men who brutally tortured, disfigured and murdered him.
Recently, I watched an episode of a classic television show, “In The Heat Of The Night.” The episode featured a young African American police officer investigating the town’s 40-year rumored murder of his grandfather. After an investigation, police identified the malicious culprits and where they’d buried the victim’s remains. The conclusion showed the officer and police chief standing at the burial site, now a playground, watching children of mixed races play together.
Reflectively, the young man pondered, “Things are better. Right, chief?”
The chief answered, “Absolutely.”
Let us be cognizant as we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday this month that we aren’t where we were, but that we must continue to unfold King’s legacy.
As King said:
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”