The new Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial in Washington, DC has been all over the news this week. I was thinking about his legacy as Jack and I finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird tonight. I wondered what he would say about the increasing marginalization and vilification of the poor and the "other" we've seen over these past years of recession and war. I believe he'd want us to rise above our fears. I believe he'd inspire us to cry out against it.
This one is for you, Dr. King.
On the last page of the book, Scout is telling Atticus the story of the Gray Ghost, who had apparently been wreaking havoc all over town.
"An' they chased him 'n' never could catch him 'cause they didn't know what he looked like, an' Atticus, when they finally saw him, why he hadn't done any of those things . . . Atticus, he was real nice . . ."
His hands were under my chin, pulling up the cover, tucking it around me.
"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them."
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