On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we reflect on not only his great vision, efforts and sacrifice, but on how far we have come as a nation once utterly divided. Yet, we are not yet where we should and need to be. As our employment discrimination attorneys can tell you, we see and talk to hundreds of employees every month that are being discriminated on their jobs.
On this day, I would ask everyone to read the entire “I Have A Dream” speech by Dr. King, because most of us do not remember much past the title. I would reprint the entire speech here but, the lawsuit Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc., established that the King Estate holds copyright over the speech. Instead, I can provide you this link to the full text of Dr. King’s speech. Take the five minutes and read the full speech. Every time that I re-read this speech, something new strikes me.
This is speech is not just about race. It is about equality based on the deeds and character of each man, woman and child. In this speech, Dr. King said:
And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
And, this is what we fight for every day. Discrimination continues based on race, religion, national origin, age and disabilities. There are employers that believe that this is acceptable behavior, or at least tolerable. These employers believe that one employee will not stand against them. Dr. King knew this: “We cannot walk alone. As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.” If you are facing any type of discrimination in the workplace, you are not alone. We are here to continue this noble cause and walk with you.
Dr. King asked: “There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, ‘When will you be satisfied?’” Our attorneys will not be satisfied until every employer is held accountable for acts of discrimination and harassment.
In the end, we believe that employment decisions should be made based on the quality of the work, equally judged without consideration of race, religion, gender, national origin, disability or even sexual orientation. In this regard, Dr. King told the crowd of 250,000 civil rights supporters gathered in front of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Many focus of the “I have a dream” portion of this speech. But, for me, it has always been about “the content of their character.” This applies to every man; to every woman; to bosses and workers; and even to lawyers. If we focused more on teaching our children to have good strong character and to judge other by the content of their character, this world would be better off. I will be sitting with my children tonight and taking turns reading this speech.
– Brian Spitz
If you have been fired, discriminated against based on your race, national origin, gender, age or disability; or denied wages; or even think that you might need an employment lawyer, then it would be best to call the right attorney to schedule a free and confidential consultation at 866-797-6040. Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm and its attorneys are experienced and dedicated to protecting employees’ rights and solving employment disputes.
Disclaimer:
The materials available at the top of this page and at this employment law website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. If you are still asking, “How do I …”, “What should I do …,” “My boss discriminated against me because …” or “I was fired for …”, it would be best for to contact an Ohio attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular employment law issue or problem. Use and access to this employment law website or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship. The legal opinions expressed at or through this site are the opinions of the individual lawyer and may not reflect the opinions of Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, Brian Spitz, or any individual attorney.