Colorblind

Yesterday we celebrated the birth and life of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I have always been so moved by how Dr. King followed his calling by God to be a change agent in how people in America viewed one another in regards to race relations. His "I have a Dream Speech" is my all time favorite speech. His most prophetic speech was given on April 3, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee where he preached, "I have seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I have seen the promised land..." The next day Dr. King was felled by an assassin's bullet. Welcome to the Promised Land Dr. King...

I thought I would share with you an article I wrote last week for the University of Dubuque's e-newsletter called The UpDate...

By the time I turned 9 years old I had lived in 5 states from Florida, to Virginia, to Georgia, to New Jersey and then to Southern California.

Perhaps the greatest life lesson I learned while living in New Jersey, which has carried me through to this day is to be colorblind.

That first summer in New Jersey I learned how to fish from "Mr. Tom.”

We lived across the street from Mountain Lakes. Every day Mr. Tom would show up on the dock and fish. As a curious seven year old kid I would walk over to the dock and ask, "Whatcha catch?” Usually it was catfish or sunfish. His big hands taught me how to put a squiggly worm on a hook. I learned how to "cast” and put a "bobber” on a line. Patience became a new tool in my "tackle box" as we would stand side by side silently and patiently waiting for a fish to take the bait. Every now and then Mr. Tom’s whole family would show up. His wife and three kids would join him and I was invited to hang out on the dock with them for hours at a time. Fishing... Laughing... Eating...

My parents would encourage me to join in the fishing festivities with Mr. Tom. My mom took me to the local Bait and Tackle shop and with my own money I bought my first Zebco rod and reel. I loved fishing with Mr. Tom.

Mr. Tom was also African American. Perhaps that was the greatest lesson I learned that summer of 1970. I didn’t even really notice. My parents didn’t seem to notice. The neighbors didn’t seem to notice. It really didn’t matter that our skin tone was of a different color. It didn’t matter to him and it didn’t matter to me. He was simply another human being created by God doing what he loved to do with himself and with his family and he graciously invited a little Caucasian boy to join him in this pursuit.

This month we will take time to celebrate the birth of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday, January 21^st. For some it will be seen as simply a federal holiday with an opportunity to enjoy a three day weekend. At the University of Dubuque, my hope is that we will see it as a privilege and an honor to celebrate the dream that Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the Mall of Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963... that we live in a nation and in a community and on a University campus where we will not be judged and where we will not judge others "by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

The dream lives on. We are living the dream at UD.

By the way, thank you Mr. Tom for teaching me a great life lesson.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3. 28)

"Jesus loves the little children... all the children of the world... red and yellow, black and white they are precious in his sight... Jesus loves the little children of the world." - Popular Children's Song

"Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty we are free at last!”

And that's my iWitness...Laugh often and Fear not!
David!