In case you’ve been living under a rock, or know little about Civil history and/or U.S. History, then you would know that today has been a day of rememberance. Today, 40 years ago, Civil Rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while on a trip to Memphis.

Though his life was cut short, there were many points to be made the significance of this day. On the one hand, you have the violent fallout that plagued many cities around the nation after this tragedy. Baltimore was no exception. The riots in Baltimore has such an impact that the University of Baltimore felt the need to compile first-hand accounts from those violent-filled days and host a “meeting” to reflect on where we have come from and where we are with race relations.

News stations from all over the nation, including the BBC, reported live from the Lorraine Motel (the site of King’s assassination) and some of the reactions from that day 40 years ago and what, if anything has changed. While networks such as NBC reported on how company’s such as Best Buy used the National Civil Rights Museum to increase the diversity of the company, I was more interested in the BBC take on the day. It is always interesting to me how other countries view our issues on race. I would have to say the BBC reporting was fair an honest. I think that had a lot to do with the fact that they “have no stake in the matter.” Instead of focusing totally on race relations throughout the entire broadcast, I was able to find out what else was going on in the world (such as the Presidential elections in Zimbabwe). These are the things you typically miss if you just watch the local and national news. And when it came down to reporting on race relations, the reporter did not sugar coat anything and allowed people to say how the really feel the situation in Memphis is — rather then the politically correct version. Good for the BBC on that one.

But back to the importance of today. Today is not about sadness because a great leader was lost. Rather, today is about remembering that we all have a part to play in harmonizing our country and our world. While we may speak of this as Dr. King’s dream, it is really a collective dream. If we own this dream and take what this man has taught us in life and death, then it is up to all of us to pick up those who have gone before us have left off. Some in my generation do not want to be bothered with the past. Some from the Civil Rights generation are bitter and think we are ungrateful for what they have been trying to accomplish.

I say, put that all aside and work together with the strengths we all have. We are in the information age and can use that to our advantage. We can do things that could not be done 40 years ago (whether you were black or white). Concentrate on maximizing those advances to bring to light the things we, as a society, still need to improve. Cut out the in-fighting and let’s get it together.

Yes, I know it’s April Fool’s Day, but this is no joke. We know the Earth is experiencing tremendous strains on its resources because of human activities. The onslaught of information about carbon footprints, global warming, and melting polar ice caps can be enough to make a person become apathetic or a huge ball of worry and stress.

But, fear not, because there are things we all can do to reduce our impact on the environment and ensure there is still a viable planet in the near future.

I’m calling on everyone who can read this blog to start an Earth Month, today, right now, in your communities, schools, churches, temples, synagouges, cities, counties, wherever. We can make this huge. Other communities across the countries have already begun to create their own earth months (www.earthmonthmc.org and www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=7421 are just two examples).

I know that the skeptics will tell you that the actions of one person cannot make a difference. However, the actions of one person, which leads to another, and hundreds and thousands more have a huge impact and help us make great strides to what we are trying to accomplish.

But what are we trying to accomplish? First and foremost, we need to create awareness of the climate issues facing the Earth. Second, we need for people understand that Earth Day is truly every day as we need to be conscious of our impact on a daily basis. Third, show people that there are simple, low-tech things that they can do which will save the planet and money in their pocket. And who doesn’t want to save money?

Share your thoughts here and visit the EcoCents page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Baltimore-MD/EcoCents/11283280764) for more information as it becomes available.

Be well.

In a news broadcast yesterday, I heard some residents of downtown Baltimore neighborhood were upset that a recently built, unoccupied city building is to be used as a temporary homeless shelter. One female resident stated simply that they (the homeless people) should be move to some other neighborhood. One male resident commented that since they have to live somewhere, it was okay with him (he can see the building from his back door).

The reason I thought this was interesting was because the building in question is only one or two blocks down the street from what some of us in Baltimore call “Tent City.” This is a place, next to a church just off of I-83, where homeless men and women have set up make-shift tents. The number of homeless shelters in Baltimore City is declining and it is the responsibility of everyone to give a helping hand to those who have fallen on hard times.

In an effort to “smooth things over,” Baltimore City Mayor Sheila Dixon has gone on record reminding the residents that this is only a temporary situation and that they are looking at other potential sites to house a permanent shelter.

That’s all fine and good, Mayor Dixon, but does the city have other plans for the building to be used as a temporary shelter? If not, might it be more budget-friendly to retrofit the building so that it could be a permanent location?

We cannot please everyone, but it is impossible to escape the problem of homelessness. Instead of worrying about how this is going to make your neighborhood look, perhaps some of these residents should be considering how this would help both the residents and the homeless population. This could be a win-win situation.

What do you think?