Dr. King legacy not lost over time

As America gets ready to celebrate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 73rd birthday as a national holiday, his exhortations of peaceful transformation of race-torn America and non-violent agitation for meaningful change are inextricably linked to the modern struggles of all minorities for civil and human rights throughout the world. \nTherefore, the movement that he helped establish and lead effectively changed the soul of the racially-tortured nation, and it has also gone a long way to bring about much more freedom, justice and equality for all humankind. That was why, in 1964, Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.\nWhile some critics may want to circumscribe Dr. King's relevance to American racial issues, it is a historical fact that, even while alive, King exhibited a prescient knowledge of international issues. That is why in commemorating his 73rd birthday, it is only fitting to remind ourselves of Dr. King's contemporary relevance. The wisdom of his words and the salience of his message are especially relevant to post-Sept. 11 America, whereby many of us have been forever changed by the hair-raising acts of terrorism that undermined the innocence and sense of freedom that have, historically, been associated with American democracy. \nBorn Jan. 15, 1929, Dr. King's national holiday has been set for the third Monday in January each year; former president Ronald Reagan signed a bill on Nov. 2, 1983, making Dr. King's birthday the 10th federal holiday. King's family and the Atlanta-based King Center For Nonviolent Social Change, which promotes his Kingian philosophy of nonviolence and civil rights have, ever since the official act on Mr. Reagan's part, helped in setting the national agenda in observing the national holiday that honors his memory. In celebrating the 16th national holiday Jan. 21, 2002, the events marking the occasion will include heavy doses of community service. In that spirit, his widow, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, recently said in a public statement: "People can come together [on that day] in a spirit of cooperation, love and humanitarian service to help someone else." \nIt is not only members of the King family who feel this way. Several of the slain civil rights leader's chief lieutenants have added their own voices to that. \nCongressman John Lewis (D-Ga.) recently wrote the much-heralded history of the movement that Dr. King led, which is titled "Walking With The Wind: A Memoir of the Movement."\nAgreeing with Mrs. King that Americans should celebrate the holiday with public service, he urged: "Go out and do something to uplift someone in need. It can be working at a community center, doing something for the elderly, helping children, cleaning up a park or a neighborhood. That's what Dr. King was all about -- service." \nIn underscoring Dr. King's clarion call that he was in the debt and service of the down-trodden of all races, Lewis further exhorted America's youth to follow the murdered civil rights leader's life. He, therefore, added: "We need to get more and more of our young people -- all young people; Black, White, Hispanic, Asian-American or Native American -- to look at Dr. King as more than a leader and orator, but as someone who got out and did good. They can also be workers for good." \nIn Indiana and other states, civic leaders are in the process of celebrating the holiday in honor of the martyred civil rights leader with well-planned events, which will include teach-ins, essay competitions centered around Dr. King's life, and visits to retirement centers to perform community services.