Today is a federal holiday that celebrates the birth of Martin Luther King. As a child I always welcomed this holiday. We used to celebrate on the day of Dr. King’s birth, January 15th. Since I share a birthday with him, and it was a federal holiday, I never had to attend school on my birthday. Now I identify with Martin Luther King for other reasons.
Certainly, I know the story of Martin Luther King’s efforts to bring equality and justice to all people. Ever since my prison term began, I have identified with people like Dr. King. They were people whose lives were mired in struggle, but who worked tirelessly to overcome challenges and advance society. No one was more effective than martin Luther King in convincing American citizens and leaders on the need for equal rights.
Like leaders from the beginning of civilization, Dr. King used language as his primary weapon to triumph over injustice. He advocated non-violence, recognizing that people could overcome all. I have read several of Dr. King’s speeches numerous times, and with every reading, I’m inspired by his eloquence, by the force of his words. I enjoy reading the work of black authors who write about the need for reform, just as I enjoy reading about other disenfranchised people who write about their experiences. Over the course of my imprisonment I’ve learned by reading from the work of Jewish people who were persecuted in the Holocaust; I’ve learned from reading the work of black people, Native Americans, Hispanic people, and of course, prisoners.
Prisoners are of a different class because frequently, they serve sentences because of crimes they committed rather than simply because of their race, ethnicity, or religion. I have been a prisoner for nearly 23 years, and I know that I serve this sentence because I sold cocaine. What I learn from reading about how others faced struggle in that I can confront my sentence with dignity, and that I can work to improve my language skills in order to persuade more people that we need reforms in our society. It is a challenge that I embrace, and one that I continue to work at overcoming by becoming a better communicator.
This morning I ran 10 miles and followed the run with 400 pushups. My running tally is now 3,566 miles over the past 402 consecutive days. I’ve done 5,800 pushups in 2010. Later in the day I finished reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, an American Slave Written by Himself, another powerful black voice who triumphed over adversity.
Monday, 18 January 2010
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