Monday we celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

I have been thinking about racism a lot recently.

I’m not a history buff, and admit until the last few years, I thought of racism as a thing of the past. As I’ve watched the last few years unfold, I realize it’s as alive today as ever.

It was so easy for me to think MLK day is something that’s always been around. I recently learned it was signed into law on Nov. 2, 1983, with the first celebration of the holiday in 1986. Both of these are within my lifetime.

So why did I think they were in the far past?

As I began reading “White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism,” I was stunned to realize the 2020 celebration of 100 years of women voting was a sham. In the author’s note, Robin DiAngelo points out that black women weren’t permitted universal access to vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Shocked, I realized these events were within my parents’ lifetime. Heck, with almost a dozen years between us, these events are close to being within my husband’s lifetime.

As I continued to research, these events feel less like history and more like current events.

Last week, with the MLK holiday approaching, I decided to read the full text of the “I Have a Dream” speech, which was delivered on Aug. 28, 1963 (a full transcript is available on the National Public Radio website).

I was truly surprised when I read the speech, primarily because I only associated the “I have a dream” phrase with it.

Yet there’s so much more than the dream portion. In fact, the “I have a dream” phrase begins about half way through the speech. Yes, it’s powerful, but please do yourself a favor and go read the speech in its entirety. It’s packed full of such powerful language.

Even in the midst of the “I have a dream” portion, there is powerful language that deeply speaks to me, especially, “With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.”

The unfortunate reality is that the symphony of brotherhood King refers to doesn’t exist — yet. Racism is still here. It might not be as blatant as it once was, but it’s present. It is tangible in my friend whose 16-year-old son refused to learn to drive in Atlanta. Why? Because as a young black man, he was afraid of being pulled over driving a nice vehicle in an uppermiddle class neighborhood.

It’s present for my friends who feel it essential to discuss action and attire with their pre-teen and teenage children as a precaution for any encounters with law enforcement.

It’s definitely present when my friends or family members are told “that’s not your child” or asked “is that your child?” because their son or daughter has a different color of skin. This happens to those who are in mixed-race marriages as well as those who have adopted.

I encourage you to take a few moments this week to read the full text of King’s speech and consider how each of us can help bring this dream into a reality.

Bonar is the editor/publisher of the I-R and can be reached via email: kbonar@indyrepnews.com.