Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. As a symbol of the civil rights movement, MLK Jr is an extremely important figure in history. But what does MLK Jr have to do with my family? Nothing in any direct ancestral sense. But what King stood for–the equality of all human beings no matter their differences–is a message that my search for my roots has brought home for me. This is an indirect, subtle thing. There’s virtually no racial diversity in my tree when it comes to my direct ancestors. But I’ve discovered lots of subtle differences… political, geographical, and even religious. Too often we let differences separate us. Let today remind us that differences can, instead, bring us together and make us strong. Embracing diversity–both within my family and beyond–is something I celebrate both today and every other day of the year.
What kind of diversity have you found in your family tree?
I took the above photo in DC shortly after the new MLK Jr memorial was opened in 2011.
This was also Inauguration Day. It was only the second time in history that it was held on MLK day. The first was Bill Clinton’s second inauguration.