Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that one day, people would be judged not on the color of their skin, but on their character. This is echoed in 2 Nephi 26:33, where God invites all to come unto Him regardless of race or gender. This is a noble dream, which is sadly still far from being realized, but Latter-day Saints should be at the forefront of realizing Dr. King’s dream.
How shocked and disgusted I was to see a job posting at the BYU employment office this past week that had race as a qualification! A position for a receptionist at the Kennedy Center requires that the applicant be of either Polynesian, Asian, African, Native American or Hispanic descent. This automatically disqualifies people of Arab, Australian Aborigine and European descent simply because of their racial or linguistic heritage.
Certainly the Kennedy Center has excuses to rationalize its racial preferences, but racial preference is still racial discrimination — and that is contrary to both Dr. King’s dream and the Lord’s example. At this time of year, when we reflect upon the message of Martin Luther King Jr., may we all as individuals and as institutions try to become more color-blind and less respecters of persons.
Samuel Smith
London, Ontario, Canada
