On Martin Luther King’s Day

Fifty years later, the struggle for civil rights for all citizens, especially minorities, remains as important as ever. Progress is slow and large segments of society and institutions have not internalized the country’s plurality and diversity.

As the police and the courts keep demonstrating, the differences between citizens of different race and social class extend to the rule of law.

Justice, as we have seen in the latest grand jury decisions, does not guarantee the equality that the law endorses.

Hispanics face barriers not encountered by others minorities and immigrants that this country has welcomed from its inception. Some decisions and the attitude of certain politicians reminds us of the worst times, when the United States turned its back on immigration, as it has previously happened again with Hispanics but also with Asians.

Just like Martin Luther King, Hispanics “have a dream”: To be allowed to build their American future with access to education, public health, equal opportunities, legalize their migratory status, and, ultimately, to be able to properly fulfill their obligation to contribute to this society.

This is why Obama’s commitment in the latest years of his presidency must be accompanied by a mobilization establishing the idea and vision of Hispanics as full members of society and first-class citizens, not secondary ones