Live up to the creed

Yesterday marked 25 years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man whose life and legacy remain a challenge to people of all races.

We have come a long way since 1955, when the Montgomery Bus Boycott thrust Dr. King into the national scene. This was an era when racism was not only publicly acceptable, it was legally binding. Dr. King's courageous leadership and commitment to the cause of civil rights helped to inspire a movement that ultimately overcame the legal obstacles to racial equality, a feat that cannot be underestimated. Blacks now walk the halls of universities, including this one, that were segregated a generation ago, and they have joined the ranks of Congress and state legislatures. Furthermore, King and the civil rights movement proved the power of civil disobedience and fundamentally altered the nature of protest in America. In the years since the 1960s, Asians, Latinos, Native Americans, women and others have gained from the pioneers of the black civil rights movement.

To recognize the depth and power of King and his message is not to deny the relevance or importance of other civil rights leaders. While many leaders and organizations in the civil rights movement disagreed on the means of accomplishing the goals of civil rights, they essentially agreed upon the nature of those goals. To choose between Dr. King and other leaders is to make a false choice.

Yet, today, 25 years after Dr. King's murder, many have begun to question the importance of his work and the relevance of his legacy. Racism in modern America is more subtle and amorphous than it was in the past; issues no longer have the moral clarity they once had. In many ways, the racism our generation must fight is more frustrating and more daunting than the overt racism of King's day.

For all of King's accomplishments, the relative state of the black community has not improved dramatically; in fact, many argue that conditions are worse now than a generation earlier. We see many indications of King's unfulfilled dream: in Los Angeles, residents are preparing for more violence as the second Rodney King trial comes to a close; the proposed Black Cultural Center at UNC has split much of the campus along racial lines; and on this campus, whites and blacks seem to prefer blaming each other for racial tension to communicating with each other to address common problems.

It is easy to be cynical in today's world, when so much of King's dream remains distant. But we cannot afford to let his dream die. When young Dr. King organized a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, few things seemed more daunting than the institution of segregation. Yet, within a decade, it had been toppled by the persistent agitation of Dr. King and the movement he led.

While Dr. King espoused nonviolence, his philosophy was not passive. He actively challenged the injustice he saw around him, empowering his followers to do the same. As children of Dr. King, we too must actively challenge injustice, so that one day this country will "live up to the true meaning of its creed."