Dr. King; We need to do more, we need to be more.

Today is the day in our nation that we celebrate this great and profound man.  Groovy Girl has peppered me with random, yet amazing facts from the internet about Dr. King.  Like did you know his name was Michael for the first two years of his life and that a woman stabbed Dr. King while he was on a book tour. That he almost didn't go to seminary. That he got a "C" in public speaking.  That he liked Star Trek; especially Nichelle Nichols' character Uhuru because she played a non-traditional black role and he saw that as important.

While we often study the same 5-6 black heroes, now through February, King is someone everyone could learn more about.  He had opinions on many important issues that still stand true today. Poverty, war, white middle class, leadership, God, and our country were all topics he spoke on during his life.

What would he think today?  I think he'd have his head in his hands for about 30 seconds and then he'd say "We still got a lot to do here."  He would have been in Sanford, Fl, Ferguson, Cleveland, Baltimore, Chicago, Minneapolis, and D.C.  He would have been busy and sad.

I feel powerless as a white woman. I can't travel to any of these troubled places because I have a regular every day job working with children.  I do stand for the underdog and caucus in my state.  I talk about important issues with my children.  I talk about important issues with my students. I put my arms around the bully on the playground and hold the hands of students having a tough day. I wipe tears away.  We need mayors and the police system to retrain, rethink how they do business as usual. We need people to understand our political system better and know that if they vote for a republican candidate they've voted for the top 10% and for big money, big corporations; not for main street or manufacturing.   We need a better way and we need it to happen right now.  Truthfully we need a revolution. We need nonconformists.  Let's make this the year to change a few things; change what you can.  Do what you can; make a difference.