Doorway to diversity. Photo by Katelyn Avery.

The door to diversity is wide open. A light is coming through and Martin Luther King is one of the people who broke the lock. The door can close but the slightest breeze will bust it open. Segregation is no more.

All the races and cultures live together, and we can all bask in this beautiful reward. However we need to know this accomplishment wasn’t a piece of cake. Scratch marks are around the doorknobs and some of the wood has been attacked. Cracks are surrounded by the blood of ordinary people who took a stand. Anyone who suffered through civil rights is a hero. Martin Luther King and many others gave up their lives for everyone else to live in a better world. I’m not talking about his death though. His personal life was also taken away.

King could have stayed silent without the stress of being a public figure. A life full of danger and hardship. Although King always had the world against him. He was a black man during a horrible era defined by lynchings’, hoses and injustice. No one was safe from lies and prejudice and if King hadn’t fought for that generation, and the future, we still might be looking as segregated water fountains.

Today my generation has memories of racially mixed school days and cultural events. We were allowed to care for each other and love the diversity around us. Racism isn’t over but its also not locking diversity behind a door. Cultural differences are only a step away from where you stand and they are all so beautiful. Today we realize that racial and cultural differences are important things we should get to experience together.

-Katelyn Avery