Judging by
Content of Character
By Steve Casey
Stonewall, LA
“I have a dream that
my four 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.”
(Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial
in Washington DC on August 28, 1963).
It was Fall of 1966. We were beginning our junior
year at Pearl-McLaurin High School just east of
Jackson, MS. Among the events of the new school
year came the fact that our school was to be integrated.
All went well as the handful of new students became
part of our student body. Only one of the new
students was part of the junior class - Cheryl
D.
Cheryl was quite an impressive young lady. She
was intelligent, very polite and well-mannered
and a person who conducted herself with poise
and dignity. Cheryl and I were in several classes
together. I learned to have a high respect for
her because of the quality of her character.
I had always believed in equality for all races.
The positive impression that Cheryl made on my
life strengthened that belief. As I look back,
I also admire her for her courage. It took a great
amount of courage to be one of the first to challenge
the years of segregation that had been a fact
of our past.
The next year more new students came and most
were good young people. But one new girl, whose
name I don’t remember, carried a chip on
her shoulder and often tried to pick fights with
other students. Though there were no major “incidents”
at PMHS, I do remember witnessing some ugly scenes
around the lockers as students had tried not to
react to this new student’s hostility. She
certainly did not make a good impression.
What was the difference between the positive attitude
of students toward Cheryl and the negative attitude
that developed toward this student? It certainly
had nothing to do with skin color, for their skin
color was the same. It had everything to do with
the “content of their character.”
In the past 40+ years since these events, much
has changed. Full integration and racial inclusion
are a reality in most of American life. I have
many black friends with whom I fellowship at work,
at church, at meals together and in daily activities.
Like all my friends, we are welcomed in each other’s
homes and we often plan activities together.
My choice of friends has nothing to do with skin
color, but it has much to do with individual character.
Though Martin Luther King’s dream has not
come true for everyone everywhere, it has certainly
come true for millions of Americans. Yes, there
are still bigots with which to contend. All the
laws in the world cannot change every human heart.
But, as MLK dreamed, most people today are “not
be judged by the color of their skin but by the
content of their character.”
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