From the Editor’s Desk

Byline: Miranda Holman

Joining together to create change; MLK Celebration reflection 

First of all, many will disagree with what you are about to read. Many will say I have no right to voice my opinion or share my views, and although they may be right, I have a voice that can be used for good, and I plan to continue using my voice for precisely that reason.

I watched a show recently about an NYC news magazine in 1969, where women were not allowed to be reporters. I was appalled that if I were living in the 1960s, I would not be allowed to do my job because of my gender, even if I were the more qualified person for the job. But the problem is, women have been fighting for equality and other issues and causes for over 100 years.

In that same tv show, I came across a quote from a Black woman who was advocating for women’s rights to a fellow woman, “These women live in a box just like you. Don’t be fooled because their box looks a little more comfortable than yours. It’s still a box. When the second-class citizens stand with each other instead of against each other, that is when you change the world.” This woman explained that even though the women she was fighting for were white, they were still in a box, just like she was.

Because I was raised poor in the south, I used to think that I knew how others felt who didn’t have the same opportunities as white people. That my situation allowed me to be grouped in a category with those who felt oppressed, but how stupidly wrong I was. I am white. I do not have the liberty to group myself in that category and say I know how you feel. I am white. It doesn’t matter that I was raised poor, that my parents were raised poor, I am white, and because of my skin color, I can never try to pretend I know what it is like to be oppressed.  

But I am a woman, so I know how it feels to fight for women’s rights. But because time has evolved and I have many opportunities that women before me did not, I need to be the one standing up and fighting for change for others. I need to be fighting for kindness, compassion, and equality for all. I will use my voice to stand in unity and fight their battle. And yes, it is a battle. Many have been fighting a battle their entire lives, a battle they were born into and will die in, never knowing if a change happened.

 I know it could be a long road before a change is made and eyes are opened up, but I know that we are closer than we were yesterday. It takes more than laws for change to happen. It takes mindsets to be reversed, and unfortunately, many of us were raised with the wrong mentality, which goes back many generations. I believe that the ones born after I understand this battle more clearly. I think  it is this generation who was born with eyes wide open, instead of eyes shut, as I was. However, I do have faith that the change will finally come. 

But today, I can do my part by shining love, being the peace so many need, and living out the mentality of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “The time is always right to do what is right.” 

As the motto for the 2022 MLK Celebration stated, “It Starts With Me,” so we can all start by doing a small part to treat people with dignity, courtesy, and respect. Isn’t that the concept that Dr. King envisioned for the world?

Miranda Holman

Mexico Ledger Editor

editor@mexicoledger.com