A hero of mine

I grew up in an area where not much respect was afforded to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Maybe none at all.

In college, one of my favorite courses was on the American civil rights movement. I think it was then that my admiration of the man began and now runs deep.

To anyone who is dreaming or has ever dreamed a dream much bigger than themselves--a dream that will undoubtedly place them in the path of detractors and enemies but fearlessly chases after it anyway.... Martin Luther King, Jr. led your way.

This is Dr. King's Alabama police mugshot on February 22, 1956. I love the look on his face. There he sat, arrested, humiliated, no doubt being treated shamelessly by the Alabama authorities... but the look on his face is one of determination. Resolve. As though he's thinking, "The work I'm doing is so far above you and your inability to understand it. Do and say what you will. It will not slow me."

To the man who understood his calling and ran headlong to embrace it, no matter the cost, you are a hero of mine.

(You can go here and see some pictures from our 2009 Spring Break when we visited the Lorriane Hotel where Dr. King was assassinated.)