How often do you see a color picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?
Nearly every photograph we see is in black and white. This is not by accident.
We are supposed to think the Civil Rights Era was long ago. We are supposed to think that Martin Luther King lived and died so long ago, we can't imagine it in our lifetimes.
If he had lived, if he had not been murdered in the prime of his life for his influential words that made such a difference in the battle for civil right, he would be 93.
93. That's younger than Betty White, who just died at 99. Who so many considered an icon and mourned at the close of 2021.
The Civil Rights Era, the 1960s, were only just over 50 years ago. Martin Luther King, Jr. died in 1968. That's only 4 years before I was born, only 54 years ago. Black people were fighting for their rights only 50+ years ago. The right to use the same water fountains, the same bathrooms, to eat at the same restaurants, to not be sterilized without their knowledge. To be seen as equals and not judged for the color of their skin.
This photograph of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, a color photograph, brings him in the modern era. It reminds us that he lived and spoke and taught just a short time ago. That the battle for equal rights was not that long ago and continues still today. This photograph could have been taken yesterday.
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