by Donald Finley

Created on: December 18, 2009

There is no question that a blemish on the history of the United States was our nation’s mistreatment of blacks.  Slavery became an institution in American culture and long-standing institutions are difficult to tear down.  It took generations to overcome the after-effects of slavery, but I believe today we have been successful.  There is no greater indicator than the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States.

Few would argue that President Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were the most prominent figures in reversing the civil rights abuses that plagued our country for over a century and a half.  Lincoln abolished slavery and in fighting the Civil War, prohibited the South from perpetuating the institutional and cultural abuses.  As everyone knows, however, saying it’s so doesn’t make it so, so it took another nearly hundred years for Dr. King to come on the scene.  He brought the abuses and injustices to light and forced those who accepted them or looked the other way to take notice.  Dr. King tried to lift up the black man, give him hope and drive to carve his own place.  His most famous quote reveals his mindset and goals; “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”  He also said, “All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”

I don’t believe Dr. King’s message was about color.  It was about character and excellence.  He believed that if the black man could get the chance, that if the civil rights barriers were removed, he could achieve great things.

Unfortunately, those who followed Dr. King didn’t have the same mindset.  Theirs was more selfish.  Take Jesse Jackson for instance.  He has created an entire industry of victimization.  Unlike Dr. King, who encouraged blacks to overcome their circumstances and reach great heights, Reverend Jackson has encouraged them to fight for what is rightfully theirs from the government.  He tells them they are discriminated against, they are victims of racial injustices, they can’t reach great heights because society won’t let them, and only he can speak out on their behalf because he is a black man and the rightful successor to Dr. King because

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