Dr. Soaries is the pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, NJ. He served as New Jersey’s 30th Secretary of State (1999-2002)

I have spent most of my life fighting for opportunities and causes that would improve the lives of African Americans. I have worked to help African Americans win elected office, dismantle housing discrimination, access educational opportunities and protect our right to vote. Like so many others, much of my inspiration came from the example set by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It is clear that Dr. King’s life and work were based upon some core assumptions. He fought for the right to vote because he assumed that once granted those rights Blacks would vote. He fought for the right to live in any neighborhood because he assumed we would aspire to own homes. He fought to open doors of educational opportunity because he assumed that we would have a passion for education. Like other Black leaders and activists, King envisioned a people who would resume their historic positions of greatness once they were relieved of the shackles of racial limitations.

Today we must consider whether or not we are the people that King envisioned we would become once we gained our civil rights. Of course, we still have conditions that linger from the Jim Crow era – the traces of discrimination cannot be considered completely erased. But today we fail to register and vote, we lack the motivation to become property owners and too many of us have a disdain for educational excellence. If we are honest, we may have to admit that we may not be the people for whom King worked and ultimately died.

It is this sentiment that drives me as I prepare to celebrate another King Day. I am sure there are some flaws in society that we can and must address. I am particularly disturbed by the treatment the victims of hurricane Katrina are still receiving. It is unacceptable that neither the federal nor state governments have been able to respond to the needs of these citizens in a better manner than they have. We should do everything in our power to support every effort that attempts to assist the former residents of the gulf region regain some modicum of normalcy.

We must also aggressively address the problems in our neighborhoods that undermine the freedoms that Dr. King fought for us to have. Not only should we be focused on the escalating gang problems, but we must participate in activities that seek to reform the child welfare system and affect the thousands of African American youth in the foster care system. When our children are engaged in criminal behavior, Dr. King’s life was given in vain. When our children are locked in the foster care system, the rights they possess are virtually irrelevant. We cannot wait for others to tackle these problems for us – these are areas that we have to address and problems we must solve ourselves.

When Dr. King sang “We shall overcome” his focus was external oppression. Today we must overcome the internal obstacles that seem to have much more destructive power than the external forces that oppressed us.

My prayer is that the example of Dr. King will motivate a new generation of leaders who will fight and win this battle. The only thing worse than not having what you need is not using what you have. This is our challenge today.