I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. However, I am not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And God has allowed me to go up to the mountaintop, and I have looked over. And I have seen the promise land. I may not get there with you. However, I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promise land. So I am happy tonight. I am not worried about anything. I do not fear any man. My eyes have seen the glory of the coming Lord. Those are the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., spoken the day before he was allegedly murdered by James Earl Ray, as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. His assassination unleashed a torrent of civic rage in the community. More than 125 cities experienced uprisings. By 11 April 1968, 46 people were dead, 35,000 were injured, and more than 20,000 had been arrested. However, prior to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination, the Congress of the United State of America passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but Dr. King was still trying to sooth a restless nation and spread peace by acting as a psychologist and spiritual healer to he masses.

 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed because he was trying to get equal rights and equal protect under the law for everyone, and some saw him as a threat because of this. You see, in the 1960s, America was very racist and poor European Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans and Asians, women, and others (minority groups) faced a lot of discrimination, and they were not protected by the laws. Certain people could not get jobs because of the color of their skin, sexuality, gender or economic status, religion, and height and weight.  So even if they wanted to work or buy a certain house or rent an apartment, certain people were not allowed to because others did not like the way they looked or who they were, and this caused a lot of people to become poor, homeless or die because they were preventing from gaining resources. However, keep in mind, not all rich men were bigots. Discriminations is unequal treatment of people because of their group membership. Many hotels and restaurants did admit Black people, and many Black people did not venture where they were unwanted or unwelcomed because they were likely to be met with hostility. Many people resented African Americans and others in public facilities, places of entertainment and business establishments, they were believed to be a subordinate race, and their proximity in shops, parks, and on passenger trains suggested an unacceptable equality in public life.

 Discrimination may be personal, legal, or institutional. Personal discrimination includes attacks on minority group members, from social slights and insults to murder. In legal discrimination, minority group members are denied lawful access to public institutions, jobs, housing, and social rewards. The third major and most subtle and pervasive kind of discrimination is institutional discrimination, which is unequal treatment of a group that is deeply embedded in government, schools, the media and some public places. Typically, institutional discrimination includes discriminatory practices and traditions that have such a long history that they just seem to make sense. For quite a long time, a similar logic was used by police departments. During the 1960s, largely due to the efforts of the Civil Rights movement, which was started by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., discrimination declined in the United States of America, but it took him losing his life to get equal protection under the law for all minority groups.

 Martin Luther King, Jr. launched a series of massive nonviolent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, which was long considered an intolerant state. Thousands of people, of all cultures, marched to Birmingham in a show of solidarity. Often times these protesters were met by angry mobs of segregationists and brutal violence, as some local police decided not to defend protesters’ basic Constitutional Rights. It is also important to note that not all police nor European Americans were racist, but the nation was, at the time. However, while in Birmingham, Alabama, the police commissioner ordered his officers to use dogs, clubs (much like baseball bats), and fire hoses on the marchers, and Americans across the nation were horrified, as they witnessed the brutality and abuse heaped on the groups of people seeking their Constitutional Rights. The exercise of freedom of speech lead to bombings and deaths, inflicted, in retaliation, for what was deemed civil disobedience, by the people seeking equal protection, under the laws. Basically, people were punished because they wanted the same freedoms that others had.

 In 1963, President John F. Kennedy requested that the United States Congress pass a law banning discrimination in public accommodations. Seizing the moment, and recognizing the potency of a show of massive support, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called for a monumental march on Washington, D.C., to demonstrate widespread support for legislation to ban discrimination in all aspects of life, not just public accommodations. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was held in August 1963, only a few months after the Birmingham demonstrations. More than 250,000 people participated. The Civil rights demonstrators sought national attention for their cause, and photos in print media, and this was very powerful in swaying public opinion.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was able to help pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Outlawed arbitrary discrimination in voter registration and expedited voting rights lawsuits. Barred discrimination in public accommodations engaged in interstate commerce. The Civil Rights Act also authorized the Department of Justice to initiate lawsuits to desegregate public facilities and schools, and provided for the withholding of federal funds from discriminatory state and local programs.

 In addition to Prohibiting discrimination, in employment, on the grounds of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, and created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to monitor and enforce the bans on employment discrimination. So, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was not the first, but one of the most successful and complete pieces of legislation in the history of the United States of America. There was also a Civil Rights Act passed in 1866 and 1875. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees for a variety of reasons, including sex, race, age, and national origin. Strong minds perceive that justice is the highest of the moral attributes—and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. established justice and equality for all. Today, 15 January 2015 is his birthday, he would be 86-year-old today, and I am sure that Dr. King is happy that everyone now has equal protection under the law, and that discrimination is dead. Nonetheless, the tendency of all law-making and all governing should be to reduce the inequalities. Although discrimination is dead, women are still underrepresented in employment. Since the establishment of the body, in 1798, there have been only 46 women in the United States Senate, and currently there are only 20 women serving in the state senate, and 80 men.

 Women are still paid, on average 23 percent less than men. For example, if a man makes $100,000.00USD annually, for being a news reporter, a female reporter may only make $77,000.00USD a year; even though she has the same job and the same responsibilities, she makes $23,000.00 less than a man, for the same job, that needs to stop and women need equal pay. And tragically, Senator Barbara Boxer is retiring, so women may not see as much progress in the future.  It has been 52 years since the equal pay act became law, but women are still not paid the same as men. To ensure the women move toward equal pay and representation, Attorney General of California, Kamala D. Harris, is running for the Senate Seat. Please vote for her so that women continue to progress in society and are not left behind.  Washington needs to be shaken up, and we need a climate of champions who will fight for the next generation. Justice of today pays all the debts of yesterday and nothing else will. Women like Senator Barbara Boxer, Attorney General of California Kalama D. Harris, Jessica Rosenworcel and Naomi Milton of the Federal Communications Commission, and Rebecca Jarvis Chief Business and Economics Correspondent of ABC New York are trying to make a difference. So please keep Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream alive by voting for Donald Trump for President of the United States of American.