Over twenty-five years ago, in January of 1983 to be precise, I wrote my first newspaper article, arguing for the creation of a federal holiday honoring America’s late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Later that same year a reluctant Ronald Reagan—over the vociferous objections of North Carolina’s rabidly racist Senator Jesse Helms, and the “nay” vote of Arizona Congressman (later to become Arizona Senator) John McCain—signed a bill into law designating Dr. King’s birthday a national holiday.
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At the time I did not realize the impact this article would have on my life. After its publication, family and friends who read it encouraged me to return to college to complete the education I had abruptly abandoned years before. Encouraged by them, and inspired by Dr. King’s life and legacy, I not only completed my undergraduate degree, but continued on to law school, hoping that the knowledge I gained would help me make a positive difference in the world.
My legal education first took me into the courtroom as an attorney and later into the classroom as a teacher. In both venues I quickly discovered that mendacity and hypocrisy are just as prevalent in the power structures of these professions as they are in supposedly less “ethical” occupations.
This was profoundly disturbing, particularly since developments in law and academia can even impact people who do not depend upon these professions for a living. For example, whenever the United States Supreme Court interprets the nature and extent of a constitutional right, its decision often affects not only the litigants, but everyone in America.
I was also discouraged about the reception the King Holiday was receiving, particularly in predominantly white communities. Many school districts in these communities refused to give their students the day off, thus conveying the impression that Dr. King’s life and work was only relevant to African-Americans.
Some administrators of these schools endeavored to rationalize their decision by claiming that making students attend school on King day gave instructors an opportunity to teach about the civil rights movement.
The speciousness of this argument, however, is evidenced by the fact that even though schools are on summer break on the 4th of July (America’s Independence Day), and even though students are usually given the day off on Veterans, Memorial and Thanksgiving day, teachers still “manage” to find time to discuss the Declaration of Independence, the Pilgrim’s landing at Plymouth Rock, and America’s numerous wars.
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