Dr. Martin Luther King, born in Atlanta, Georgia, Jan. 15, 1929, was a Baptist minister, son, husband, father, social activist, civil rights leader and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. On April 4, 1968, while in Memphis, Tennessee, to march with garbage workers on strike, he was assassinated at the young age of 39.
As I think about why this holiday means so much to me, I find myself thinking of another important man - he was a migrant worker born in Hondo, Texas, with ten children. I am his daughter and second generation in America. He worked hard to care for us and impressed on his children the greatness of this country, his love for it and the possibilities it offered to so many people. In his eyes, and now mine, we have seen the greatness of some people and, unfortunately, the ugliness of others.