Today is the anniversary of the death of the man from whom I draw more inspiration than any other, Martin Luther King, Jr. I will never forget the outrage I felt as a little girl when we learned about him in school. How could someone kill such a good man? Almost 30 years later, I still can't say I understand it, just as I cannot understand why we continue to allow so many young black Americans to slip through the cracks of our educational system, destined, in many cases, for a dangerous, short life, and, more likely than not, a life behind bars. In Wisconsin, we tout our graduation rate as something to be proud of -- and it is, if you are white. In that case, you have an over 82 percent chance of graduating from high school in four years. If you're black, that chance drops to 49 percent.
One of the black men I admire who is still alive and fighting for these kids' education is Howard Fuller. If you saw Waiting for Superman, you might remember the scene where he talks about his tenure as Superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, where, after he saw videotaped evidence of poor teaching in some classrooms, he tried to fire the teachers: "I thought I was in charge!?" he said, as he explained that he was forced to reinstate them. Maddeningly, although that was 20 years ago, not much has changed since that time. Someone forwarded me an email from Howard the other day, and at the bottom was this quote from Mary McLeod Bethune:
“I will not rest while there is a single Negro boy or girl without a chance to prove his worth."
I'm not going to rest either. My role may be less obvious - I'm not a black man -- but I'm going to do what I can. I'm determined to help carry out the work of the incredible man who came in the name of love, shared his dream and gave his life for it:
Mmm...mmm...mmm...
Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride
In the name of love!
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love!
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love!
What more in the name of love...
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