For too many, this is not a moment of comfort and convenience here in the Charleston area. Nor has it been over the past few years.
This time last year, a young man had just been sentenced to death for the murder of nine black men and women at Emanuel AME church. The fate of a North Charleston police officer accused of murdering a black man and now serving a 20-year federal sentence remained to be decided.
Our community is finally moving on from those painful tragedies. But there is more work to be done. And today, we look to Dr. King as an inspiration to meet those challenges head on.
In too many ways the Charleston community remains starkly divided by race.