There are local events commemorating the life, the words and, most importantly, the dream of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. each year.

The King Unity March and program in Athens honor the ideas of King who spoke of not judging people by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

The same King who spoke for political, social and economic equality for Black America.

The same King who led the tumultuous civil rights movement through the 1950s and ‘60s.

The events celebrate the strides that have been made in equal rights for all Americans, no matter their race, since the days of King.

The events will note the travails that remain regarding race within our nation.

King’s “I Have a Dream” speech will no doubt be mentioned, quoted and read. That speech ranks as one of the most eloquent and powerful speeches in American history.

In that speech, King spoke of many things, including, “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. … I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. …”

While enormous strides have been made in integration from schools and theaters to the workplace and restaurants, even with the election of a Black President this century, the MLK events likely won’t reflect such integration.

The majority of the events happening around the country will be attended by Black participants while many white people will likely stay home.

Why such a disparity?

It is hard to say.

Perhaps, it is because white people do not feel welcome or they do not believe the events are for them.

But this situation is not unique to North Alabama, despite how local leaders may try to set an example for all to honor this day.

Throughout the nation, by both Black and white people, Martin Luther King Day is largely perceived as a “Black holiday.”

What an ironic injustice for the day commemorating the man who spoke of Black and white men, women and children sitting together at the table of brotherhood.

Martin Luther King wasn’t just a great African American.

He was a great American.

Martin Luther King Day isn’t an African American holiday.

It is an American holiday.

A holiday to honor a man who asked America to keep its long-held promise that all men are created equal.

Martin Luther King is a man for all Americans as the day commemorating him is a day for all Americans to reflect on the nation’s past, but more importantly, think of its future and act to make the present better.