Education the key to a dream

While Martin Luther King Jr.‘s dream has a long way to go before it is truly realized, there was some promising news released Monday which is a step in the right direction.

According to a report by the American Council on Education, black males set a new college enrollment record in 1990, reversing an eight-year decline.

Enrollment increased 7.4 percent to 476,000, topping the old record of 464,000, which was set in 1980.

This was indeed welcome news on a day which celebrates King’s legacy, especially when listening to other reports which paint a bleaker picture on his vision—such as the riots that occurred in many major U.S. cities at the premier of the movie “Juice,” which depicts an inner-city gang.

One cannot blame the riots on Paramount Pictures or the film’s director, Ernest R. Dickerson, however. The movie simply portrays life in America. Better yet, the movie proves the importance of education for minorities, especially for black males. The educational system gives a sense of purpose and helps integrate society to the values of different cultures.

King wanted to see that all children, black or white, Catholic or protestant, someday would hold hands and sing, “Free at last, free at last.”

Reports such as the ACOE’s aren’t going to make much of a difference in King’s dream. But through education, ignorance and intolerance can be diminished by all races. The day when there is no need for a report on minority enrollment truly will be a day for rejoicing and the day King’s dream finally is realized.