The Memphis Grizzlies reflect Dr. King's "Dream"

At least, the pursuit of it.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose profound legacy we celebrate in the United States today, was a complexly complicated man. But who among us isn’t without flaws - King’s remarkable oratory skills and uncommon willingness to put the cause in front of all other obstacles in his way has earned himself a place in the American story that is transformative, even to this day. From community work and service activities to speech competitions and even the NBA’s slate of games designed to remember, celebrate, and act - “The Dream” lives on.

But “The Dream” is more than just one speech. It is an overall perception of the ills of American society, detailed in the work and word of King’s countless other writings and interviews. In Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King perhaps paints a more deep picture of what he views as not only his need for non-violent action in the segregated South, but his disappointment in how others - specifically those of European descent - do not see the need for it.

King said in the famous letter that he was in Birmingham because “…injustice is here.” That is also why he was in Memphis, Tennessee when he died of an assassin’s bullet in April of 1868 - because of a sanitation worker’s strike where injustice was occurring. And in that act of violence, Memphis and Dr. King became intertwined forever.

But instead of just an infamous end, it became a solemn beginning. The Lorraine Motel is now the National Civil Right Museum, a monument in and of itself to the movement King helped lead. And the Memphis Grizzlies, the city of Memphis’ lone major professional sports franchise, partners with them every year to help put the legacy of Dr. King’s life in to a greater focus.

From the Earl Lloyd Sports Legacy Symposium to a day of service, a panel discussion on the intersection of sports and race to the game itself between the Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns, for many years Memphis viewed this day like the NBA views its Christmas Day slate. It was the game circled on the calendar, not because of the opponent or playoff significance. It was because of the platform that the game has provided to continue these important conversation…to carry on the work of Dr. King and all those who helped make America a more perfect union years ago.

That work continues, of course. Memphis, as a city, is imperfect - as many cities are. But part of the reason the Grizzlies are in Memphis in the first place (in addition to the economic benefits the city offered the relocating Vancouver franchise) is to help the city continue to heal and improve, not from the tragedy of King’s death occurring in the city but from the issues that King was protesting. Writing and speaking against.

A professional sports team isn’t going to end racism, or eliminate the impacts of systemic degradation on an entire group of people. But they can be a light in the darkness, an example to aspire to, and a stage for meaningful moments to be shared.

The Memphis Grizzlies organization does the city proud every Martin Luther King Jr. Day, win or lose. They serve their community. They lead important conversations and honor impactful Black leaders and athletes who carry on “The Dream”. They show the value in having a community focal point like an NBA franchise beyond dollars and cents - where complicated realities can be taken and turned in to education and activism. Where real progress can be obtained…even if it is slow to come.

Within the lifetime of my parents, segregation ended in this country. Within my grandparents’ lifetimes, as small children they could have known and lived with former slaves. The United States of America is only 160 years removed from the Emancipation Proclamation, a decree issued by Abraham Lincoln claiming the contraband property of the Confederate rebels during the Civil War…meaning their slaves, human beings viewed as property as part of a society build upon the backs of those in bondage.

A basketball game will not right those wrongs. Nothing will. But any opportunity to remind us of how far our nation has come - and reflect on how much farther we still have to go - is an important part of bettering our nation for our children, and our children’s children. Today is a day to reflect. And act.

And to celebrate the complete and total “Dream” of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - not just the part that sounds good in sound bytes or reads well in a social media post. But the part that actually will be the work of the decades to come, that will actually lead to our country fully realizing the words that founded it. The Memphis Grizzlies, as well as any team in professional sports, understands that. And they carry it on.

Long live The Dream.