Opinion

On a recent broadcast of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” viewers witnessed a classic example of the decoupling of people of color from notions of America.

We know Dr. King as a spiritual and moral leader, scholar and thought leader and early architect of the Civil Rights Movement, yet too often, and especially in January, his legacy is reduced to that of a peaceful protester with a dream.

Martin Luther King Jr. is especially deserving of respect. He stepped up and put his own body on the line. How many would do that these days?

Voting rights was always the primary goal of the Civil Rights Movement. Segregation and racial discrimination were demeaning, inconvenient and insulting, but Blacks always understood that power at the polls was the only way to eliminate second-class citizenship.

Americans of an older generation were raised to respect the U.S. Constitution and support rules and regulations to protect and improve the health of American citizens. The Jan. 6 insurrection and the following resistance to Covid-19 vaccination has destroyed both of those basic beliefs.

Not a day passes without a headline that some noted personality tests positive for COVID. The danger of COVID infection still roars, taking a ravenous toll on thousands. Yet, one figure remains virtually unchanged: Nearly half of Americans still say no to vaccinations.

On Monday, Jan. 17, the nation will pause to honor the life of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Many will recall the historic civil rights achievements of King, the only Black American to be honored with a national holiday.

A year has passed since the great insurrection. A number of those who were physically involved in the invasion have been prosecuted, but so far none of those who planned and fomented the event have been indicted.

As Blacks now attain goals that were once so elusive, it is increasingly common to identify Black achievers as the first this or that. It is always exciting for the barrier to Black success to fall. It happens so frequently now, that I fear many of the young take success for granted.

There have been countless reports, recommendations, rule changes, investigations, civilian checks and balances on the LAPD, and Black Live Matters protests. It’s as if none of these things ever happened or meant little-to-nothing. The LAPD’s wanton, reckless, outrageous slaying of 14-year-old Valentina Orellana Peralta is grim testimony to that.

Unfortunately, the policy of cutting construction costs by reducing parking will damage the value of the property of homeowners in the area. Ironically, people with limited income might find it more difficult to solve their parking problem.

The 1619 Project sought only to do one thing — start an honest conversation about how toxic attitudes about race have shaped this nation’s past and made America the country it is today.