Realizing Dr. King's Dream

Dear Friends,

Above the ark in the Schreibman Sanctuary the words of the prophet, Jeremiah, proclaim: “Seek the peace of the people in whose community you live … for by their peace shall you have peace.” Once again this month we will observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. For too many, this day represents a mini-vacation. No school. A three-day weekend. But this day is too important an opportunity to ignore. Dr. King worked to help people understand we are all created in the image of the same God. Dr. King called upon us to examine what it means to be a human being and, more importantly, what it means to be a member of the human race.

In 1963 Dr. King wrote in his famous letter from Birmingham Jail that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” December marked a dark anniversary for those of us who live in Deerfield. Fifty years ago a great fight was fought over the creation of affordable housing that could bring minority families into the Deerfield community. Rather than allow these homes to be built, the village took the land and built Mitchell Park with its pool. Though much has changed over the last 50 years for the good, the fact remains that Deerfield and most of the North Shore suburbs remain segregated and in great need of affordable housing.

Part of our community’s observance of the King holiday is our work in concert with the Interfaith Housing Center of the North Shore. As a congregation, we are founding members of this organization that actively works to end discrimination in housing and advocates on behalf of those seeking affordable housing for themselves and their families. “Banished,” a film we will show as part of a community-wide observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, tells the story of southern towns that actually cast out all of their African-American residents. We will have a discussion following the movie facilitated by two civil rights advocates, Dino Robinson and Doria Johnson, the great, great-granddaughter of Anthony Crawford who was lynched in South Carolina in 1916.

We see that racism and prejudice still permeate our community. Jeremiah demands that we actively work for peace in the community in which we live. It is upon us to remain vigilant and to actively work for the day when Dr. King’s dream will be the reality for all.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’ I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”

Rabbi Paul F. Cohen, D.Min.

Re-printed from the January, 2010 Covenant