Why celebrate MLK day?

Every MLK day I take a long hard look around my neighborhood and wonder why we bother to honor a man who's message is all but ignored by the black community.  I'm reminded of how black people fought for equality and once the laws were on the books, stopped.

Stopped?  You think that's crazy? You think the fight for equality rages on? You cry white privilege and Ferguson and say you're still oppressed.  I say if you're oppressed it's your own damn fault.

You won the right to vote and didn't use it.  You won the right to a fair education and didn't use it. You made  it illegal to discriminate based on race in every aspect of society, workplace, shopping malls, restrooms, you name it and then left it at that.  Black teens voluntarily sit in the back of the bus these days.  Every club you join is almost always exclusively black.  You still have separate churches, radio stations, BET.  Why? Integration works both ways.  How are you ever going to be equal to white people if you don't go near them?

But for every African-American who steps up and makes something of themselves or who makes the effort to take their rightful place in the world, there's 20 more who CHOOSE not to.

That's right.  CHOOSE not to.  Because being poor and black doesn't make you drop out of school if you REALLY want to go.  Poverty and being black doesn't force you to join street gangs or use drugs. It doesn't get you pregnant at 15.  It doesn't mean you have to settle for welfare.  And white people aren't forcing you to either.  You either want to do good or you don't, but only you make that decision.

If you don't like being targeted by the police then go BE police officers and CHANGE it.  If you don't feel represented by your government, go VOTE for people who will represent you.  Better yet, go BE a politician and CHANGE things.  You had every opportunity to keep moving towards equality, but YOU CHOSE NOT TO.  It's like once the 1980s came, you just sat there and blamed white people instead of effecting ANY change at all.  WHY???

Every time you skip school or commit crimes instead of trying to get an education and a career, you're bitch slappng Dr. King.   Every time you sag your pants instead of dressing respectfully, you're bitch slapping Dr. King.  Every rap song, every grill, every use of ebonics, every last wanna be thug is an insult to every one of your ancestors who fought to win you freedom and equal rights.

It's time to stop playing the blame game, get off your lazy asses and GO BE EQUAL.  Because you can do that now thanks to Dr. King and a lot of people just like him.  Will you?

By the way, white people marched during the Civil Rights Movement too and there were white people protesting in Ferguson.  Times HAVE changed when it comes to race. People ARE more tolerant. Yes, even white ones. Your attitudes may not have kept up, but that's your own damn fault too.

Stop oppressing yourselves.  Stop living in the past. Get up and be the change you want to see.  Go BE equal or stop whining about inequality.  Otherwise, you're missing the entire point of celebrating MLK Day.