If Martin Luther King were alive today, would he be proud of America?

King, a minister and advocate for social equality, is remembered every year on January 18.

On a sweltering afternoon in 1963, the reverend delivered a fiery speech in Washington D.C.

His words reverberated through the nation during a time of racial tension and a push for racial equality.

King spoke against the crippling discrimination holding America captive. He emphasized the need for justice and stressed the importance of peaceful protest.

He urged the people to combat violence by “meeting physical force with soul force.”

He reminded the black community of the many whites supporting the Civil Rights movement and the importance of unity.

Fifty-three years later, where does America stand regarding equality?

Though there have been monumental changes since 1963, I do not believe these changes are enough. America is still held captive by racial discrimination.

The first time I heard “I Have a Dream” I was a child in elementary school. It became my favorite historical speech.

Growing up in Oregon, I was far removed from racial tension. It simply did not exist where I lived and I viewed the Civil Rights Movement as a victory that helped unify the nation years ago.

I enjoyed learning about many black activists and historical figures. My heart hurt for the courageous women and men so unjustly treated but I was proud of the progress our country made.

Until my family moved to Louisiana several years later.

I was shocked by what I witnessed. Maybe I was naïve, but I was blessed to spend my childhood in an atmosphere void of racial discrimination.

Moving to the South was a wakeup call to the realities of ongoing discrimination.

I had no idea people actually viewed others negatively based on skin color. To me, color signified a beautiful history, a story told.

Racism is learned, not innate. And there are many people living in modern society molded by racism’s ugly poison.

I wish I never experienced this learning curve because I wish it didn’t exist.

But it does. And it’s real.

MLK valiantly pled with America, speaking out against the very discrimination still happening today.

He famously quoted “1963 is not an end, but a beginning.”

What would he think of the continued tension today?

Will we make 2016 the beginning America needs?   

Social equality is not accomplished in a day. There is no quick-fix for a flawed system. But as college students, we can cause positive change by treating our fellow humans equally and as we want to be treated.

Let us unify and work together until Dr. King’s vision becomes a reality: “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.”