Today, and each year on this day, we celebrate the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a national holiday.

When America remembers Dr. King, we do well to recall the dreams he expressed at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, a century after the Emancipation Proclamation. Most of us are most familiar with this one dream: "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."

This quote has become our holiday capstone at least in part because it captures in a shiny bubble the comfortable Dr. King that most Americans prefer to remember: the non-violent pastor who is accessible to white and non-white through a hopeful vision of a color-blind society where all people enjoy equal rights, equal freedom, equal opportunity, and equal respect. In one sentence he distills President Lincoln's "better angels of our natures," the national aspirations expressed in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution - and he embodies the dream in our children.

  "We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now.... Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.... Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children."

As we celebrate the hope of Dr. King's dream for that future day of justice, we must remember that his words were perceived as a threat and his vision was met with resistance. So today as we carry that hope forward, we also must acknowledge that a half-century and four years later we still have far to go. Still today we cannot say that our children are born, raised, and live in a nation where skin color does not carry an advantage or a disadvantage, and we must not allow a premature affectation of color-blindness to hide the continuing destructive power of race in our social structure, our systems, and our institutions.  Read More.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Talk to your children about the dangers of sex trafficking and online safety.  Encourage them to let you know if they are approached or experience situations that make them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.  Open communication is key.   

Report suspicious activity
If a child goes missing, inform local law enforcement immediately.

To report suspicious activity, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Human Trafficking Task Force recommends that you contact:

Learn more about the issue
We've collected some good information and resources that can help you learn more and get involved.   Visit our blog today and help join in the campaign to keep our children safe!