Your Jan. 18 article “Mainers reflect on pursuing Martin Luther King’s vision of the beloved community” was heartwarming and featured some truly remarkable people.
But recently, I was confronted with the irrefutable fact that people of color, such as those you featured in your article, are not the ones who need to reflect on King’s vision. It’s white people who need to reflect on the dream.
This year, as political leader and motivational speaker John Jenkins said, “We’ll be content with having a breakfast, hearing a few speeches, singing a few songs and then going back to business as usual.” Maybe next year you could ask a few white people what they are doing to live the dream.
For it is deeply rooted in the American Dream. And it is our inherent racism that needs to be talked about and brought out into the light – to be examined and discussed.
I, as a white person, want to build that beloved community. I have resolved to speak up when I see racism in my community and, to paraphrase King and the Rev. Kenneth Lewis of the Green Memorial AME Zion Church, I will try, however slowly, to keep moving forward.
John Schaberg
Portland
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