What If...?

Can you imagine going to a basketball game and all the basketball players being white? What about going out to eat and being turned away because you are with a black friend?

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was observed Jan. 16. Despite Kings' many accomplishments with civil rights, the acceptance of race is still a ongoing problem.

Have you ever seen an interracial couple and done a double take? It seems that after 30 years of integration, double takes would have meet their demise.

Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I have a dream" speech Aug. 28, 1963, and yet, the movement toward total acceptance of equality seems as slow as a baby's first steps.

Imagine going to the movies and seeing black actors as only supporting characters. No Denzel Washingtons or Halle Barrys in Oscar-winning roles.

One of the most popular movies starring Denzel Washington is "Remember the Titans." The film depicts the success of integration and the hardships of football players.

Even though we can all ride wherever we want on a bus, drink from the same water fountain and use the same restrooms, it is still a work in progress.

For instance, if black politicians are voted into an office, it makes national news. Why are people so surprised that a black man or woman would be qualified to sit in a public office?

However, the stigma associated with crime continues to point to the black community. While white male crime rates soar, news media still seems to flock toward the black male crimes.

This week, all students will go to their classes and sit in seats where they feel they will be able either to learn the best or be is closer to the door.

But there was a time when students were even segregated in the classroom. Once blacks were allowed to attend the same school, professors and whites who still did not want integration would segregate students in the classroom.

What would you feel like if you were asked to move to a seat in the back because of the color of your skin? What if your eye sight was not 20/20 and your success in the class was depended on sitting in the front?

Classroom segregation was not the only type of unequal opportunity. Even though every American is entitled to a fair trial according to the U.S. Constitution, throughout history many blacks have been treated unfairly by the justice department.

"Mississippi Burning" was a movie made about the death of three civil rights activists and the police officers involvement to hide the crimes. The O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson trials have sparked national interest in the past few decades.

While Robert Blake was charged with the murder of his wife, Michael Jackson was on trial for molestation charges. Blake's trial did get attention, but not half of the interest provoked by Jackson's. In fact, Jackson's trial promoted a new television show on E! network and interrupted regularly scheduled programming shows when special developments in the case happened.

Why hasn't this country accepted racial diversity? Many reasons can be blamed, but could it possibility be because people do not want to change? Could change of mind simply be the reason why tolerance is so hard to achieve? How do we change?

It starts with people not only saying that they aren't racist, but actually not being racist.

Many families discourage the coupling of interracial couples and threaten to cut off a person if they date or marry someone from a different race.

For instance, my step-father is a Hindu West Indian from Trinidad and Tobago. When he married my mother and into my conservative Baptist family, it took adjustment. Minds had to change because whether or not any member liked it, he was here to stay.

I, myself, had to get used to the stares and snickers, but I can honestly say my life would be completely different if he had not come into my life and I had not given him a chance.

College students have the ability to change the world. I can't tell you the amount of times I have heard in movies, "This world is going to hell" in reference to the younger generations' views on the world. But what if that isn't so bad?

What if everyone made the change to accept people for their value instead of the color of their skin?

What if everyone became so tolerant that we didn't do double takes at interracial couples?

What if everyone stopped watching news coverage about crimes based on racism?

What if everyone accepted that some beliefs we learn as children are not entirely true?

What if everyone became completely tolerant of other people?

Are these possible? Can such a world exist? I don't know, but I would like to think America would be better for changing its attitude on racism.

I would like to think that the effort of civil rights activism is worth something. I would like to think that the world had more people like Martin Luther King Jr. to lead this country into a better world.

Rockelle Gray is the Opinion Editor for The Murray State News.