Yesterday was Marting Luther King, Jr. day and I am proud of the accomplishments he made. The concept that black people in this country could not eat in the same place I ate, lodge in the same place I lodged, etc. is so unbelievable to me. I can’t imagine anyone not welcoming my sweet Nanny or Annie Laura with open arms. Nanny (Cherry Porter) and Annie Laura were/are black women who raised me and taught me so much about being a respectable, loving person – black or white. I remember hearing the word “nigger” one day at school and not knowing what it meant. I came home and asked Nanny what it meant. She didn’t get mad, but put her arm around me and told me that the dictionary defined nigger as a very bad person. She then went on to say, “Honey, don’t you ever forget, there are black niggers and white niggers.” She was fairly old when I was litte. I’m sure she’d encountered her share of “white niggers.” She showed me as much character as anyone I’ve known. Martin Luter King, Jr., in his famous speech, said, “I have a dream that my four little 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 think we have come a long way in two ways since then. One, black people are gaining much ground in not being judged for the color of their skin. There is still a long way to go, but not at far as 30 years ago. Second, now, not only do we not want to be judged by the color of our skin, but we don’t want anyone to judge us on the content of our character as well. We don’t want people to tell us we are wrong or sinful. We don’t want people to tell us that our lifestyles are dangerous. We’ve once again become an arrogant people.