Dr.King

Every year around this time I feel a need to write an essay about Brother Martin and his immense contributions to civil rights here in A-merry-ca. I feel a need but I never do it. Partly because there are so many great essays (like this one from my man Mel) around this time about Dr. King that adequately convey my thoughts about the man. We have, in my opinion, covered pretty much everything. The man's legacy -and his place in A-merry-can history- speak for itself.

But, sadly, there are some folks who will never get it. Or, who will never acknowledge his contributions. Hell there are states in this union who never really got it. (Utah wouldn't even attach the name Martin Luther King to the holiday until 2000. And welcome to the 21st Century, South Carolina.) As you can see from one of the previous links, there are sites on the web that were set up to seem legitimate but whose sole purpose was to distort King's legacy and the contribution of black folks to A-merry-ca. So excuse me if I don't feel like everyone is on board this King love train.

"CHARLOTTE, NC - The Charlotte NAACP President, Rev. Kojo Nantambu, has issued a statement regarding Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools' decision to utilize the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as a snow makeup day:

The NAACP on behalf of the African American and minority community is appalled and thoroughly incensed at Peter Gorman's decision to use the MLK holiday as a snow make up day. Once again Dr. Gorman has shown total disdain and disrespect for a very significant part of this community. He continues to demonstrate a blatant deliberate disconnect with the African American Community.

This issue of using Dr. King's birthday as a snow day was visited in the spring of 2010 at a board meeting and the community showed unanimous support to choose a day other than the King holiday. There are other work days and Saturdays (which is done in many other counties) that could very easily accommodate CMS's needs.

Martin Luther King is the only African American in the history of this country being granted a national holiday in his honor because of the horrible and cruel sacrifices African Americans have made in the building of this democracy and in-lieu of the extraordinary personal and humanitarian sacrifices made by Dr. King and others. We will not sit idle and let you desecrate this day. We respectfully request that you immediately reconsider and choose another day."

Yeah I know that the kids have to learn. But couldn't the little Rugrats use the summer to make up the snow days they missed? And BTW Doctor, if you are going to keep them in school and teach them about Dr. King and service, you won't get an argument from me.

Folks let me leave you with bits and pieces of a wonderful essay by Anthony Jerrod writing in the Atlanta Post. I felt myself picking up most of what he was putting down. Most of it.

"Almost three weeks prior to his assassination, the late Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered one of his most riveting and poignant speeches in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Though not as well known as some of his other great speeches (e.g., “I Have a Dream, Beyond Vietnam), this undaunted oration was equivocally important. In the midst of an affluent, conservative and predominantly white crowd of over 2,700 people, Dr. King brilliantly discussed the problem of race and economics in the face of significant hostility and angry protesters.

With an almost perfect backdrop of the relatively wealthy and suburban Grosse Pointes brushed against the struggling urban landscapes of Detroit, Dr. King discussed a metaphorical yet literal dualism that was fairly ubiquitous throughout this nation during that current time and space. Specifically, Dr. King discussed that there was “One America” that consisted of citizens who enjoyed material abundance and prosperity, decent education, cultural stimulation, spiritual freedom, respect and dignity......Then, there was the “Other America.” Conversely, this America embodied despair, hopelessness, discouragement, poverty, dilapidated housing, inadequate education and a lack of basic necessities. Is this “Other America” that Dr. King discussed still present and relevant today? Or, was this American “apartheid” just a divisive and extreme figment of Dr. King’s imagination that was unimportant and invalid both in 1968 and in these current times?.......Upon examination, one of the primary components of the “Other America” speech was the problem of racism. Dr. King was unabashed in stating that the country had to come to terms with and recognize that racist thoughts and practices were antithetical to the American democratic experiment. In our current time and space, there are certain commentators who believe that we now live in a post-racial and colorblind America, where racism and bigotry have come to an end and divisive and artificial categorizations (i.e., races) cease to remain.

To be sure, race relations have improved when benchmarked to March of 1968 when Dr. King gave this speech. But, it is relatively safe to state that our nation is still reluctant to have candid recognition and discourse about the problem of racism. ...

Is this “Other America” that Dr. King discussed still present and relevant today? Or, was this American “apartheid” just a divisive and extreme figment of Dr. King’s imagination that was unimportant and invalid both in 1968 and in these current times?

Upon examination, one of the primary components of the “Other America” speech was the problem of racism. Dr. King was unabashed in stating that the country had to come to terms with and recognize that racist thoughts and practices were antithetical to the American democratic experiment. In our current time and space, there are certain commentators who believe that we now live in a post-racial and colorblind America, where racism and bigotry have come to an end and divisive and artificial categorizations (i.e., races) cease to remain.

And, of the course, the age-old conservative argument that myriad African-Americans find themselves in an unfortunate predicament, because they are simply not willing to lift themselves up by the bootstraps. To be sure, personal accountability is absolutely necessary in living an abundant life. But, it is extremely arrogant and disrespectful for one to think that they accomplished everything without any help from anyone and from especially God. I would opine that many African-Americans try their best to raise themselves from an impoverished state but there is only so much lifting that can be done when their bootstraps are broken by despair, discouragement and oppressive forces. Listening to Speaker of the House Boehner, “Mrs. Refudiate” Palin and other unfeeling individuals still targeting this message at African-Americans is very disheartening.

On the whole, is Dr. King’s “Other America” still vibrant and relevant in our current time and space? Unfortunately, this metaphorical yet literal dualism still exists and will continue to persist until we move beyond partisan rancor, indifference and vitriolic words and move toward genuine recognition, repentance, love and unity, as President Obama eloquently discussed during the recent memorial service in Tucson." [Source]

Yes, a "literal dualism" still exists in A-merry-ca. On that Mr. Jerrod and I both agree. But we part company with his Pollyannaish appeal to unity. It will never happen. Too many people have too much invested in keeping us (rich v. poor, black v. white) divided.

Our job is to keep trying to make those folks irrelevant. We can only hope that as new generations of A-merry-cans come to the fore, they will see the game that is being played and denounce it. That's when that dream that everyone like to write about will come closer to being reality.