In
2015 former Pioneer Charles Blake was elected to the State House of
Representatives in Arkansas, representing District 36 in his hometown of Little
Rock. Charles and I were teammates for
one year and I coached him for two seasons.
Always a great talker, when Blake was elected I figured the political
arena would be a perfect for him. Having
gotten stuck next to him on a long bus trip to Ripon, WI, I can certainly
attest to his willingness to share an opinion and to his abilities in a
debate! Charles enjoyed a fine career at
Grinnell, both on the field and off, and has done well in his professional life
thus far.
I’m
introducing you to Charles now because today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day,
and for the first time the State of Arkansas will be celebrating only King
today. Since the ‘40’s, Arkansas has
observed Robert E Lee Day in mid-January, and they began observing MLK Day as well. In 1985 the state
combined the two holidays, and they have observed them together since. When Blake was elected as Representative in
2015, one of the first changes he pushed for was separating the two
holidays. It’s been a long battle, and
at times he’s faced some serious opposition, but last March Arkansas Governor
Asa Hutchinson signed legislation that ended the practice of honoring both on
the same day. According to AP reports,
Hutchinson said the following, "I expected this debate would divide us, but instead during the debate we listened to each other and the conversation brought us together. This is an education bill in which the discussion educated each of us, and we learned that history needs to be viewed not just from our own lens, but through the eyes and experiences of others."
I'm sure I'm not doing the story justice, but I'm excited for Blake's victory and for the shifting attitudes that it highlights. Better days are ahead. I'm proud to call Charles my teammate and I'm proud of the work he's doing. We need more Pioneers like him! Congrats Chuck!
