Since everyone is back at work today and reading a little more, I thought I’d offer a few Happy Birthday links for the Rev. King.

Volokh has the video of “I have a dream.”

Here’s the Letter from Birmingham Jail. I’ve always liked this line:

I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he k alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?

Jeff Goldstein is back (!) and reflecting on race.

This wasn’t written for MLK Day, specifically, but I thought it was relevant. Avery Tooley on “the most racist thing that’s ever happened to me:”

But see, that’s the difficulty with this whole question. I don’t think there’s anybody who questions the existence of racism, but I do think there’s a lot of debate over the degree to which it has the power to shape our existence. I have some friends who believe strongly that racism has a high stopping power in the Black community and is the reason we haven’t gotten it together yet. I don’t see it that way. But I think that’s partially because I don’t always look for racism.

If you’re in the area, King’s personal papers just went on display at the Atlanta History Center.

When reflecting on King’s legacy, it’s usually the practice to state all the ways in which the dream he had has not yet been fulfilled. Undoubtedly, there is still racism. We are flawed creatures. I’ve lived in the South my whole life. I’ve seen racism– white on black and black on white and a lot of things in between. But you know what I’ve seen a whole lot more of?

“On the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners…sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

And,

“Little black boys and black girls… join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”

Really, it happens all the time. Every day in schools and businesses and on sidewalks and playgrounds and at lunch counters, it happens. It doesn’t mean everything’s perfect, but it does mean we’ve made great strides, and we shouldn’t ignore them or denigrate them on the week we honor the man who dreamed them in the first place.

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