Martin Luther King Jr. by Carmichael Dave
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 With me having the day off of work Monday, I didn’t get a chance to
acknowledge Martin Luther King Jr. Day. To most people I know, and at times to myself, MLK day is simply a chance to enjoy a free day off of work, to take a longer mini-vacation, to sit around and watch movies, or have some time to catch up on various other things.
In my generation, most holidays are just that. We do not take time to think of the people that
serve our country on Veterans Day, nor do we often appreciate our country’s forefathers on
Independence Day. Easter is about eggs, and Thanksgiving is about Turkey and football.
MLK day is different. This is a day in honor of an individual, a man who made waves fairly
recently in the grand spectrum of things. MLK was a man who greatly affected a time before I
was born, and who’s spirit will help to seed progress long after I am gone.
Sometimes I wonder what the true meaning of MLK day actually is. Do I, as a white man, have
the right to celebrate, and remember? Then I recall some of Dr. Kings’ words:
“I want to be the white man’s brother, not his brother in law.”
I know many times words can be subject to interpretation, but I believe Dr. King meant his
words, and his life, to be an inspiration to people of all colors, plain and simple.
It is interesting that the timing of this holiday came to pass at such an interesting point in
our sports culture. Last week we spent a good deal of space talking about the recent comments
Kelly Tillman made on the Golf Channel, where she spoke of “lynching Tiger Woods in a back
alley”.
Now, we’ve talked that subject to death, but it recalls another quote from Dr. King……
We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive
is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best
of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
And to those that wish to make this a bigger issue, for those who wish to ride on the coattails
of the uncertain footing of today’s racial climate, I offer this again from Dr. King:
An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his
individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
I recall the Duke LaCrosse scandal that wrapped up in the past year, in which white lacrosse
players were wrongfully accused of raping a black woman in North Carolina. The amount of venom
spat coast to coast was amazing, and was a true telling of the distance many of us must travel
until we live in a world of true understanding. When you stepped back and looked at the lines
being drawn, they were not lines of right and wrong, they were lines of color.
If you were black, odds are you sided with the accuser. White, more than likely with the
players. I spoke to many people as a mini-social experiment during the zenith of the press
coverage of the scandal, and was shocked at how many people had chosen sides with matching skin
tones, with no real knowledge of the case itself.
Looking back today, we know that the players were accused wrongly, but lives have been ruined
forever. That is not a white tragedy, nor would it have been a black tragedy had they been
guilty. It was a tragedy of humanity. Once again, to quote Dr. King:
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. I have a dream that children will one
day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the
content of their character.
There are still many hurdles to leap before we get to a comfortable point of progress when it
comes to racial harmony. But as I grow older, and as I bring a daughter in this world, it
scares me that people still wish to separate themselves. Other races can be mentioned, however
it usually boils down to black vs white, white vs. black.
I watched sports on television on MLK day. I saw many commercials and human interest pieces
about what MLK meant…..and I mostly saw one color on those commercials. Can Dr. King not have
affected all races? Must white heroes be white, and black heroes be black? I grew up rooting
for Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan. Was a young black child scorned somewhere for cheering
on Larry Bird?
Too often lately I have seen problems of race come up in the news. I have seen careers and
reputations ruined more often than not. Although perhaps satisfaction was gained in the interim,
was there any real progress made? Freedom means freedom, period. People MUST have the ability
to speak their mind, and to be shouted down or applauded by their peers.
Silenced or censored opinions sink to the underground, rise in the form of grassroots, and
blossom into the voice of revolution.
It is written throughout history, both good and bad.
We must not lend credence to the small minded opinions of the few, by making them feel afraid
to speak. We must let them make fools of themselves, and pity them, not hate or scorn them.
Eventually the message will be understood, and the very thought process at the genesis of those
words extinguished.
I think these days that most forget the true meaning of Dr. King’s words. Some twist and misuse
them. While his words will always have a different meaning to different people, his intent was
clear to all: To unite us through similarities; not divide us through petty, cosmetic
differences.
It is interesting that such a big deal is made about Dr. King on his official holiday, but what
about the other 364 days of the year? Is it just simply that most of us do what the media tells
us to do, and because news directors and executive producers are constantly looking for
material, they send some intern into the editing room to glue together some honey-sweet puff
piece? Blacks and whites shaking hands, some shocking pictures or videos from the 60s, and the
inevitable soundbyte from the “I have a dream” speech are almost certainly present.
Don’t get me wrong, I think that’s great. We all sit at home and watch, and are reminded that
it is MLK day, and therefore we can plan that extra day out of town for the weekend, or
whatever we wish.
But it’s the other 364 days that we should remember Dr. King, and realize that there are
villains on both sides, people who lack talent and the ability to make a name for themselves
by doing anything other than surfing the wave of media whenever the latest race card is dealt.
We must throw out the extremists on both sides of the issue, like the high and low judge in
Olympic skating, and realize that there is only one side of the issue….the right side.
I will like you not based on your color, but by the content of your character.
I will love you not based on your skin, but on your heart.
I will disagree with you not because you look different, but because I feel you are wrong.
I will work with you not because you gained an advantage due to pigment, or lack thereof,
but because you are qualified to work beside me towards a common goal.
I hope we do not buy into the intent of this holiday for just one day a year, but celebrate
and educate ourselves much more often. We have made so much progress, but we still have so much
to work on.
"If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my brothers and sisters from a permanent
death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive."
So prophetic were his words, yet in death Dr. King became stronger than he ever could have been
in while alive. His words became legend, his life became legacy. Some believe Jesus died for our
sins, and the same could be said about Dr. King. As so often happens in history, it takes death
to remind us just what we take for granted in life.
Perhaps we can all do a little better in not taking for granted the freedoms we have been given,
and perhaps we can do better to not suppress those who try to exercise those freedoms.
Thank you, and happy MLK day…. |
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