(First in a series celebrating Black History Month).
When Dr. Tom Jackson took to the podium Jan. 21 at Friendship Chapel Baptist Church for its 16th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, he said he was filled with both hope and concern.
Hope, in realizing how far America has come since that famous day in 1963 when King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.
And concern, he said, that Americans’ complacency is allowing that dream to slip away.
“I’m concerned tonight that there are those among us — in our society — who seem to think that we’ve done enough to repair the damage caused by 350 years of racial injustice,” he said. “They say we’ve had enough affirmative action … how could they possibly think we’ve erased the effects of all those years of slavery and Jim Crow segregation?
“I’m concerned especially by what appears to be a trend toward resegregation of our schools,” Jackson said, alluding to both the recent decision by the Wake County school board to end racial busing — and the broad support it received among Wake County voters.
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