MLK, Hope Is On The Way

Martin Luther King Jr. Day has a place in the hearts and minds of minorities across the United States, as well as those whose lives have been affected around the world. Over the years our mass media stations have been keen on providing stories of what people are doing to help others on this special holiday. It seems as though this holiday is one giant day of community service to help those in need, just as Dr. King helped thousands of struggling minorities some 45 years ago. There is a similar theme of this years’ Martin Luther King Jr. Day and that theme is hope.

Just as Dr. King gave hope to the African American families living in tough times in the south, today we as citizens of the United States of America give hope to a nation facing a natural disaster.

Instead of news stories of people who are helping others in the United States on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the media was locked on the tragedies facing Haiti after the massive earthquake nearly destroyed the entire island. In the past news stations have reported on rallies, parades or even events held in honor of Dr. King, but that was not the state of this years holiday.

Headlines on Martin Luther King Jr. Day consisted of the brave men and women in Haiti are helping with the recovery of the nation. I would imagine that Dr. King would be smiling if he could see where are nation has come since he passed. It would bring him joy if he could see the way our nation has given a helping hand to others that so desperate need it.

There were three media outlets that I looked at on this holiday so that I could compare and contrast the differences between these media outlets and media that Dr. King was on back in the 1960s.

The first look was the USA Today Web site. The only article on the Web site about Dr. King was a piece about what different people were doing that day to help others. Different states were holding events that people could attend to help out others in need. The article did not speak of anything that Dr. King had accomplished in his lifetime.

The other media outlet that I focused on was NBC Nightly News. This program, like all the other media outlets, was focused on Haiti. There was a 12 second piece on activities happening that had any tie with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. That segment was on President Obama’s volunteered time at the soup kitchen.

When looking at the history of media coverage for Martin Luther King Jr. in my time, the press has given the man praise and respect for his accomplishments. Last year stories flooded the newspapers and television news stations on what the man had done, but it wasn’t always that way. In his early years it seemed as though the media was split on its opinions of Dr. King. The south in particular did not give Dr. King that much press, and what press they did give him was negative. In the northeastern part of the nation newspapers were giving Dr. King a good reputation for his works on the battle for equal rights.

Looking back at this years Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I still believe that he would be proud. To see where our nation has come since he has past and the fact that we are putting aside our current economic and health care issues to focus on a nation in desperate need of help would make him proud. I believe that Dr. King would rather have people helping others than to stop and remember him. I a way we are remembering him, by helping others.