MLK B-Day is more than a BLACK holiday!!!

Every year around this time I begin to ponder the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I’m not questioning why we celebrate Dr. King’s birthday; however, why does McDonalds and the rest world view his birthday as a Black-American holiday instead of an American holiday?

Four years ago my mother, who is Caucasian, asked me if she should give her Black employee the day off on MLK Day. I couldn’t tell if she was joking or serious. I said, “Mom, its only right that she should get the day off.” But now that I look back on the question my mother asked, not only should her employee have taken that day off, my mom should have also. And she should observe all MLK holidays in the future.

Dr. King not only fought for Black rights, he fought for HUMAN rights. I find it very disturbing when the media makes MLK’s birthday a Black-focused holiday, when WHITE women have, in actuality, been the main beneficiary of the civil rights movement.

Affirmative action was passed by President John F. Kennedy to provide equality for minorities in an effort for them to have the same opportunities as their white counterparts; however, white women are considered “minorities” and took full advantage of the benefits. I am not suggesting that it was a problem to do so, although employers used affirmative action to hire more white women than any other minority under affirmative action, and I don’t think that was truly the intended purpose of the initiative.

If it wasn’t for the civil rights movement and Dr. King, we wouldn’t have women running Fortune 500 companies, women running for President of the United States, or a female Secretary of State. As I am writing this blog, I am beginning to recognize all the different kinds of people in America who have benefited from the civil rights era and the work of Dr. King. The Asian community has benefited, Caucasian women have benefited, Black- America has benefited, the Hispanic community, the Irish community, and the list goes on and on.

So, next time you see a McDonald’s ad commemorating the work of Dr. King, but only featuring black actors in the commercial, ask yourself why Black people are the focus when everyone else in America also benefited from Dr. Kings legacy.