Holiday With History

Holidays are just right for sleeping late or going to the beach or finishing a mystery novel. They are often just wrong for chores or history homework. Today’s holiday, in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is an exception in that it is just right for history homework.

Some will simply enjoy the day off, too young to remember the man or the barriers that he fought.

Some will take note of the official tributes--breakfasts, dinners, lectures, parades and prayer services that mark the day, already a state holiday in California and a national holiday as of next year. The commemorations will prompt reminders of his principles, his nonviolent approach to struggle and his overriding goal of equality for all Americans.

Many who are old enough will remember King in legendary terms--a preacher turned orator, who triggered a rethinking of race relations by refusing to fight violence with violence. He was murdered at the age of 39 in 1968. Had he lived to celebrate another birthday on this Jan. 15, he would have seen progress result from his prodding.

In King’s hometown of Atlanta a black mayor, the second, is in office. Mayor Andrew Young was a colleague during the battles against discrimination 20 years ago. Black mayors also preside in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit and other cities. The right to vote, sought by King at a time when two- thirds of black Americans were disfranchised, has paid off with those and many other political gains.

Black Americans in general are better off and better educated than ever before. But, despite the overall progress and spectacular individual achievements that have resulted in career gains unimaginable in King’s day, there is much ground still to be gained.

As a group they are still twice as likely to be poor or unemployed. The current jobless rate is 15%. Worse, black long-term unemployment, the measure of those who have given up hope of finding work, rose 72% during the first term of the Reagan Administration. Black students still score lowest on the standardized tests that often open the door to economic success, despite recent improvements on college-entrance examinations and on tests in lower elementary grades.

Progress comes more slowly than it did a decade ago. But movement toward equality is measured not in years but in lifetimes. King’s successors are not sprinters but marathoners, and, thanks to him, the course is shorter. That history is worth noting even on a holiday.