Let Us Celebrate Dr. King's Legacy with a Fierce Determination to Help the People of Haiti to Become Finally Free from Abject Poverty and Corruption

Let us celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a fierce determination in helping the people of Haiti.

Here is an excerpt from his "I have a dream" speech. It is applicable to the plight of our Haitian brothers and sisters who have experienced another blow of untold proportions:

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.

But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To read the rest of the speech, CLICK HERE.

The reality is that these words are still appropriate to our society today and though we have come a long way, race relations are still problematic and racism still rears its ugly head on many occasions. Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere before the massive earthquake last Tuesday, has sunk to levels so low they are literally incomprehensible. The island nation was once the economic jewel of the Caribbean, providing coffee and sugar plantations from the French, who controlled Haiti after ceded from the Spanish, who claimed the entire area as Hispaniola. This is a far cry from the Haiti today, where there are some people in the rural areas who have resorted to eating mud to survive. The slaves, brought to the island by the French, rebelled and outnumbering the colonists by 10 to 1, they were literally chased off the island. Haiti became the first island to free itself from slavery. Their actions paved the way for a young country, known as the United States, which was seeking to purchase the French-controlled port of New Orleans, to strike a deal with Napoleon, essentially obtaining much more land than they had imagined. The Louisiana Purchase literally doubled the size of the United States. The last French emperor was most likely despondent after losing his prized possession, Haiti.

What is shocking is that the plunder of Haiti started with the French. Before withdrawing in 1825, France demanded reparations to the tune of 150 million francs, about $21 billion in today's currency, claiming it was for its loss of economic and human property. That was a staggering amount of debt for the island to pay. It was later reduced and the Haitians would not pay it off until 1947. As a result of that act of avarice by the French, Haiti never really got on its feet. The country has had 22 heads of state in 65 years. Some have said that the United States will control Haiti from hereafter. Well, this isn't the first time that the United States has come to Haiti's rescue. In 1915, U.S. Marines invaded the island to restore stability. It remained under U.S. control for the next 19 years.

Francois Duvalier, a doctor and union leader, was elected president of the island in 1957. Known as Papa Doc, his regime was notorious for corruption, torture and terrorism. The United States supported Papa Doc's regime because they were reportedly worried about the spread of communism, since Cuba had become a communist country. The corruption continued when Papa Doc's son, Jean-Claude Duvalier, "Baby Doc," assumed the presidency. In 1972, he told Mike Wallace of '60 Minutes" that "the aim of my government is to increase the volume of foreign investment, and at the same time promote tourism." Really? The opposite ensued. The repression inflicted by the Duvaliers crushed the tourist industry and drove many of the country's most educated people into exile. Only then did the United States help to oust Baby Doc in 1986. The political unrest and economic quagmire never came to an end with the Duvaliers' departure from Haiti. It continued to be plagued by political coups and was battered more recently by four hurricanes in 2008.

Haiti has been given billions of dollars, but the unscrupulous politicians plundered those coffers of the island nation. Now is the time for accountability and strict oversight of the money going into Haiti. It must be used solely to help rebuild that country and provide for its citizens. It is my fervent belief that this earthquake will lead to a rebirth of Haiti, a renaissance, if you will. The day is coming when Haiti will be free from the vestiges of corruption, poverty and degradation. It will rise from the ashes like a Phoenix and will finally say, "free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last."