A LETTER TO MRS. KING

CORETTA SCOTT KING

1927-2006

I woke up this morning to images of your beautiful face on my television. There was coverage on your life and legacy and immediately my knees began to buckle. No, I said to myself, I couldn’t believe it. I ran to my PC and checked the local news, and it confirmed it. You have passed away and have now gone to a better place. They say a man’s not supposed to cry but this man right here felt the tears as if it were his own mother. You were an icon in your own right, and the African American community embraced you and your family as the First Family of Civil Rights. Thanks to the work pioneered through Mr. King, we live in a time where people of all races, color, and gender are beginning to be accepted into society for what they stand for, as opposed to their physical attributes. Although I am a full blooded latino, my dad was a very dark skinned colored man. He was shot to his own death months before I was born, and growing up I often wondered what this life is about. Is it about money and power? It couldn’t be, because my father had plenty of it, and still passed. It definitely couldn’t be about eternal living so what is this thing called life? Is there a purpose? Thanks to icons like yourself I had people to look up to and admire that provided answers to some of these questions.

My own mother wasn’t around to watch me grow up because she gave legal rights to my godmother, a friend of my father’s, at only a few months of age. She was an older woman who was also latino of color. She always taught me how important it was that I carry myself as a man. She taught me chivalrous ideals and thanks to her, I remember to always open a door for a woman, whether it be on a date or for a coworker on her way into the building, always give up my seat to women, children, and elderly, always respect others, and be ready to fight and protect for what’s yours, because as my godmother taught me, there will be those who carry evil and envy in their hearts and that we have to pray for those people. My godmother felt it was important that I understood what type of man my father was, and I remember to this day how she would tell me stories about his life and how he treated others and it was such a blessing to have her and his memories in my life. Although my father was not a part of America’s Civil Rights Movement, he fought battles of his own. Being a person of color in Communist Cuba’s 1960’s era was certainly not a walk in the park either. The Hispanic community has a myriad of skin tones and color and we, as latin people, still to this day hold stereotypes and prejudices over our VERY OWN. My mother allowed this loving woman to raise me years ago because she, as a lighter skinned latin woman, was well aware of the tribulation and adversities she would face raising a “black” baby on her own, despite the fact that I was just as Cuban as she and her family are. Despite the fact that she already had her first son, my older brother, to a light skinned Cuban man, and her side of the family kept him around, but not me. Today, Mrs. King, we live in a world free of these prejudices. Today I can forgive my mother for her mistakes and I can have the relationship I always wanted with my family. Especially my older brother and I, who have always been very close growing up, despite the fact that we were raised by two different families. My family, along with most of the world, has gotten past some of these adversities, but sometimes everyday people lead me to believe that we still have some more to go.

Mrs. King, you have traveled the world and touched many people’s heart and lives. The same glow I watch that lived in your eyes lived in my godmother’s as well. You are people with a purpose, and a calling. I am a strong believer in that everything we experience has reason. I believe God delivers people in our lives with a purpose. My godmother did such a good job raising me into the honest and God fearing man that I am today. Beyond my faults and flaws I know my father lives in me and that I have a good and sincere heart thanks to her. Both of you are so similar in purpose because you have done the same with your own life and children. Mrs. King I believe people will remember you as a historic icon of our time and your name will be kept alive through the continued work of your closest friends and family, God willing. I never had a chance to meet you in person, but watching you in the media I can tell what an honor it was for others to be in your presence. You had that glow that made people recognize they were in the presence of greatness. Mrs. King thank you for the memories and for carrying the torch your husband left behind for so many years. Not only were you an important figure to the Civil Rights Movement, you also fought for human rights, women, gays, latinos, and the poor. You understood what it meant to live life with a purpose, and have inspired others to do the same. Without the contribution of your efforts and others, my mother and father would probably have not had met, and I wouldn’t be here. And if I WAS here, and a latino of color, I may have not been able to sit here and type this letter to you, and share this with others worldwide who are also keeping this day as a day of reflection and prayer. You left us Coretta Scott KING, but in my eyes and heart you are truly a QUEEN and a true exemplification of a woman. May you rest in peace and God bless your soul.

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