Huang: ‘Sit Down Together At The Table Of Brotherhood’

Congress House Chamber. Courtesy/Zhen Huang

By ZHEN HUANG
Los Alamos

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.” —Martin Luther King Jr.

In China, Martin Luther King Jr. is widely considered as one of the greatest American heroes. We get to know Dr. King’s heroic endeavors ever since we were school kids. For me, I feel blessed for having MLK Day as the anniversary day when I saw the first sunrise from the horizon of “a Beautiful Nation” ( 美国, as USA translated into Chinese characters ) that Dr. King dreamed of it. 

Over the years, reading Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech has become my must do homework on MLK Day. The 2023 MLK Day was no exception, but while reading, my thoughts were overwhelmed by a local gun violence incident that just occurred at the beginning of the new year 2023.

The gun violence incident occurred in a residential area in Los Alamos, a town that is among the safest counties in the United States. In particular, it occurred in a house on the street where a long time friend of mine lives. What I have heard my friend talking about most is how the residents in the neighborhood share their vegetables and fruit harvest with wild animals. One time, a bear visited my friend’s backyard and ate all of the ripped peaches and damaged the trees overnight. I was impressed how they were talking about the bear’s visit and planning to grow more peach trees as if the bear’s visit were the highest reward for their gardening project…  I can not imagine how a gun violence incident could ever happen here, in a friendly residential area of the safest counties. 

While reading “I Have a Dream”, I dreamed of touring the Congress House Chamber.

In the Congress House Chamber, the Rostrum symbolizes victory and accomplishment, the two bronze fasces represent the civic authority, and the oak leaf wreaths explicitly state the American Ideals: Union, Justice, Tolerance, Liberty, and Peace.

I dreamed of seeing the bronze fasces replaced and the oak leaf wreaths wrapped the dangerously growing bars on these statistical “tables” about the status and roots of gun violence in the United States. 

I dreamed of seeing the House Rostrum turned to “the table of brotherhood” that Dr. King dreamed of it.

 

Courtesy/Zhen Huang

Courtesy/Zhen Huang

Courtesy/Zhen Huang

Courtesy/Zhen Huang

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