Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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 have a dream today.

In his "I Have a Dream" speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. voiced his hope for the future. On Monday, the nation will remember the great minister and civil rights activist who fought for equality among all races.

We can still learn much from Dr. King. The meaning of his words has not been lost, but there is still much to do to combat racism in our nation. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement on racism called Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love - A Pastoral Letter Against Racism and the MCC featured a podcast, The Racialization of America: A Conversation about Race (scroll to the bottom of the list).

In 2011, King became the fourth non-president to be memorialized on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The memorial is located in West Potomac Park at 1964 Independence Avenue, S.W., referencing the year the Civil Rights Act of 1964 became law, and also the year that King was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. The memorial's official dedication date is August 28, 2011, the 48th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. To learn more about the memorial, click here.