I was born in May 1968, the month in between the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., the prominent civil rights leader assassinated April 4, 1968, and Robert F. Kennedy, politician and advocate for the Civil Rights Movement, assassinated June 6, 1968.

I first realized the morbid timing of my birth in a U.S. history class in ninth grade. Ever since, I have felt a responsibility to treat people equally, regardless of their race, ethnicity, social class, gender, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.

King’s birthday on Jan. 15 has me reflecting on civil rights progress in the United States. In the half-century since King’s death, we have witnessed much change. But what to make of that change is weighing on me. Are we moving forward or backward?

Progress can easily be demonstrated in “firsts,” like in politics, for example. Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress in 1969 and in 1972 the first Black woman to run for president of the United States as part of a major party. Although she was not nominated for the Democratic ticket, her “first” helped pave the way for Barack Obama to be elected president in 2008, our country’s first Black president. Just over a decade later, Kamala Harris became the first female vice president of the United States in 2021, as well as the first Black and South Asian American to ever hold the position.

Closer to home, Utah politics also have seen some groundbreaking “firsts.” In 2008, Sen. Luz Escamilla was elected to the Utah Senate, becoming the first Latina to hold this position and the first immigrant elected to serve in the Utah State Legislature. In 2022, Escamilla and Rep. Angela Romero were elected as Senate minority leader and House minority leader, respectively, and were the first Latinas to lead a caucus in the Utah Legislature.

I celebrate these political “firsts,” and others in sports, education, entertainment, literature, corporate leadership and more as victories, while also recognizing the unfinished nature of this progress. Are we doing enough to advance the progress set in motion by King and the Civil Rights Movement? I don’t think so.

If we were, we wouldn’t continue to see the inexcusable deaths of countless Black youth, men and women at the hands of white police officers. We wouldn’t see the mass incarceration rate of Black and brown men and boys. We wouldn’t see the widening racial disparities in life expectancy and the long-standing trend of Black people having lower life expectancy than white people. We wouldn’t see Harvard’s first Black president resigning after a short six months laden with heavy scrutiny above and beyond that of other university presidents.

Recent waves of social activism, like the Black Lives Matter movement, underscore the harsh reality that, despite progress, the principles of justice and equality remain elusive for many marginalized communities. Achieving the ideal envisioned by King demands not only dismantling overtly discriminatory practices but also unraveling the deeply ingrained structures of privilege that perpetuate inequality.

Somehow, even after all he endured — threats against his life, physical assaults, discrimination — King continued to believe in the decency of humans. He shared in his 1964 Nobel Peace Prize lecture the hope of appealing “to the conscience of the great decent majority who through blindness, fear, pride and irrationality have allowed their consciences to sleep.”

Reading this lecture made me check myself. Where is my hope?

My hope lies in education. Educational institutions from preschool to post-secondary strive to help students gain perspective, understanding and empathy for their peers and fellow human beings. My ninth grade history class gave me perspective and understanding of the plight of someone different from me. My conscience could no longer sleep.

I am hopeful that in our pursuit of a more just and equitable society, education remains a powerful tool for change. As we navigate the path ahead in our country and our state, it is crucial to engage in uncomfortable conversations about privilege, bias and the various forms of discrimination that persist. True progress requires introspection, a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths and a collective commitment to dismantling the barriers that impede the realization of King’s dream.

There is still much work to be done to create a society where everyone is truly judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. I believe in the power of education to help us get there.

Brenda Marsteller Kowalewski is a sociologist and vice provost for High Impact Educational Experiences, Faculty Excellence, International and Graduate Programs at Weber State University.

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