For far too many of us, Monday, Jan. 16, will be, at best, just another day off work or school. Few of us will stop to really think about the man who is honored on that day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In reality, this world would be a far better place if all of us stopped for a bit and really thought about Dr. King, about the role race plays in the way we think and respond, about the horrifying events that unfolded not centuries ago, but in our lifetimes.