Justice. Equality. Civil Rights. These are thoughts many of us reflect on today and some even marched about across the country. Does today's holiday mean something to you, or is it another holiday for apathy and indifference?

I'm a white educated male from Northern California
, who has dealt with very little discrimination in my life so far. But my Southern upbringing, from 1989 until 2000 in Louisiana and Alabama, showed me various struggles that still remain for people of color in the United States. More than my observations, I credit my parents for instilling a sense of equality and empathy towards all types of people into my everyday life. I am proud to be this way, and do my best to live every day for the things that matter, instead of the things that don't...including the color of a person's skin.

Did you know...from the time of Martin Luther King's assassination in 1968 when this holiday was proposed until the year 2000, not every state in our Union recognized MLK Day? 32 years is way too long to wait to recognize a struggle that has roots in our country's beginnings. It is an absolute shame that apathy and indifference by the powers that be occupied roughly a 100 year span between the abolishment of slavery by Abraham Lincoln and Dr. King's civil rights movement.

Social media jokes aside...the struggle is real- even today, even in white bread Saint Cloud and Central Minnesota towards immigrants & 2nd generation Americans. Fear, anger, or frustration towards what we don't understand just isn't the way to a better world. On the flip side, over-activism that discounts efforts by good people or reverse racism just feeds the cycle of hate. I personally challenge you each day to defend the good and speak against discrimination. The conversations that follow these actions might not be pleasant, but you will plant a seed towards better equality.

Going to high school along the Gulf Coast, I lived 160 miles south of the infamous civil rights showdown town of Selma, Alabama. If you haven't seen this newly released film yet, it is quite fitting for today, and the message fits every day thereafter:

More From 98.1 Minnesota's New Country