Before her death in 2006, in preparation for a new biography, Coretta King met many times with Dr. Barbara Reynolds, one of the founding editors of USA Today. I recently interviewed Dr. Reynolds on her time with Mrs. King.

The fact that we recognize Black History Month has enormous significance. This generation's challenge is to transform the opportunity to make change into a reality of social and economic justice.

On April 4, 1968, a shot rang out in the Memphis sky and Martin Luther King Jr. fell silent. But King's message of one America, undivided by race, would not die.

We still have a long way to go in healing the divisions that exists between us and in "perfecting our union." It would be stupid to delude ourselves that we are in a post-racial America.

We Americans should honor abolitionists of the past and present not only by remembering them during Black History Month, but by working to repeal capital punishment throughout the USA.

The time has come to put our votes and our money where our mouth is and no longer tolerate the malleable bigotry of those who profess to be our friends, but also say we are not quite worthy of the same rights.