These are just some reflections on the day. Enjoy.
No doubt you will hear much today that you have heard before. No doubt you will hear much today that has already been said and you have heard so many times that you will be tempted to turn a deaf ear.
If you are lucky you will hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his own words, in his own deep, resonating voice. His famous words that we've all heard and should hear and need to hear again and again for we have not "reached the mountaintop," yet. We aren't even close. We have not yet cashed that "promisory note," It looks like it's still a long way coming.
If you are lucky you will hear his daughter, Bernice King, speak. Perhhaps, she will read Letter from a Birmingham Jail. I heard her read it once and I'm not ashamed to say, it brought me to tears.
If you are lucky, you will see Dr. King's son, Dexter Scott King, perhaps on T.V, and you will be reminded that, as William Faulkner once wrote,
"The past isn't dead. It isn't even past."
If you are lucky, you will see and hear their mother, Coretta Scott King, who died in 2006 and was herself a formidable figure in the history of civil rights.
But civil rights is not just history. And if you are lucky you will hear a fresh voice, with a unique perspective that will remind you of the true history, purpose and meaning of the day. And if you have not, then read this by Alex Blaze. You will not be sorry.
You will, no doubt, hear Barack Obama's speech, delivered yesterday morning at Ebenzer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia-- the church, as we all know, where Dr. King was pastor. Barack Obama spoke passionately and poetically in language steeped in Biblical allusion, so similar to Dr. King's own speech. Barack Obama spoke yesterday of change, unity, struggle and hope. Fine words, lofty goals, and high ideals marred by politics.
I struggled with what to say today. What could I say that had not been said and perhaps articulated much better? I was tempted to just let Dr. King speak for himself or let others speak for me. I was tempted by passive-aggressive apathy. And then I read Alex Blaze's essay and was reminded that I could not do that. I have to--you have to-- continue to "dream big."
On this day, however, the day set aside to commemorate the birth of Dr. King, I've been thinking mostly about that evening in Memphis-- April 4th, 1968. I've been thinking about that picture we've all seen of the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.Exactly one year before that day, Dr. King spoke out against the war his country--our country-- was then engaged in and declared the U.S. was on "the wrong side of a world revolution." I've been thinking about the speech he gave the night before, reassuring the audience and those concerned for his safety. "Only when it is dark enough," he said, "can you see the stars." He told them that they must choose between, "non-violence and non-existance." He called for justice, unity, fairness, equality and assured his listeners that he was "not fearing any man." Fine words, lofty goals, and high ideals marred by politics but backed up by courage and conviction and a willingness to stand, sit in, and march before the dogs and the water hoses, to be jailed if need be, in order to face down adversity.
There is a street in Indianapolis, where I'm from, that is now named after Dr. King. Few, I have little doubt, even remember what it used to be called. I know that I no longer remember. But I do remember that there was much heated debate in our community over whether naming a street after Dr. King was an appropriate gesture. It is a winding street the weaves a way around and through a part of town where most of the other streets only go one way. And there are certain destinations in that part of town in which the only way to get there-- in spite of the appeal of those opposing one-way streets, straight and uncomplicated--is down that winding road. And though the way seems longer ("How long will it take? Not long"), it is sometimes the only way if you want to get where you want to go; if you want to get where you need to be.
"The only normalcy that we will settle for (Yes, sir) is the normalcy that recognizes the dignity and worth of all of God’s children. The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy that allows judgment to run down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream. (Yes, sir) The only normalcy that we will settle for is the normalcy of brotherhood, the normalcy of true peace, the normalcy of justice."-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
(h/t to Alex Blaze)