Legal Research

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

By Connie Crosby

Today our American cousins celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in honour of Dr. King who spoke out for civil rights. It is no surprise that many Canadians respect the man and his message, and also pay homage to him.

A few links of interest:

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service - official U.S. government website
• Proclamation - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - City of Toronto 2008 proclamation
• Leaders like King bring message of hope - column by Kevin Little, The ChronicleHerald (Halifax)

Compare these thoughts–

from the City of Toronto 2008 proclamation:

The people of Toronto are in the forefront of efforts to establish a caring and compassionate society based on the elimination of all forms of discrimination and disadvantage and the inherent ability within each of us to recognize that the fundamental strength of our community is our diversity.

The residents of Toronto honour Dr. King?s memory each year with a day of remembrance in January, to reaffirm our commitment to the basic principles of human rights, equality and justice.

from the column by Minister Little:

I remain disappointed by the approaches taken by leaders in my generation to tackle these challenges. I think leaders in the 1960s spoke to marginalized people in a hopeful voice. There was a sense that if we could only remove the barriers of racism and classism that enslaved people, the sky was the limit. Today, as I listen to leaders who speak for those in marginalized communities, I have the sense that their fallback position remains passive support programs. To me, true justice is not only the equity of wealth but the self-confidence that my dreams and your dreams are possible, and that we have it within ourselves to make this happen.

Reading these thoughts, and others I found while surfing the web, it would appear that Dr. King’s dream is still alive and well, but still a goal as yet unreached.

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on January 21, 2008 (boomark / email).