Martin Luther King

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Fifty years since Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, 60 percent of blacks believe that whites have better chances than they do to get jobs for which they are qualified, a new Gallup poll shows.

This quote, I'm sure, is familiar to all of you. If not, then I hope you will find some meaning in this piece. It was spoken graciously and passionately by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on August 28, 1963, in Washington, DC. This week, we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King. Several months ago, Sean and I received an award, the Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Service Award, which deeply humbled us. We have received numerous awards in the last few years, yet this one stood apart from the others. It was presented by The Rainbow Push Coalition. We were awed to be the recipients of a recognition that we knew was not given to us without great consideration. Sean and I joked, "Do you think they know we are white?" This Freedom Award represented all that Dr. King embodied to us. It allowed us to believe that maybe, just maybe, that we are making progress. It was not just another piece of hardware that we would line up on the shelf in the study. It seemed to represent a hopeful future.

Astute readers of this blog will recall that, in a recent post, I chided readers to view volunteering as a year-round pursuit, not just something to be done on certain special days of the year. While I am sticking to that stance, a certain special day is upon us so I must chide you to volunteer now, even if only for one day. That day is Monday, Jan. 16 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

My dad once told me that he had only one deep regret in his life: his decision to skip Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech on the National Mall in D.C. in August 1963. When he saw Dr. King's I Have a Dream speech on TV my father knew immediately that he had missed an opportunity to witness first hand one of the most stirring, inspired and impactful speeches in American history.

Check out AARP's slideshow made for Martin Luther King Day yesterday -- its imagery of Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr. is not to miss. MLK would have been 83 years old on Saturday.