Columnists Compare Icon’s Ideals, Today’s Problems
On the 20th anniversary of the federal Martin Luther King holiday, African American columnists related King’s significance to topics ranging from the confirmation hearings for Samuel Alito to terrorism, the war in Iraq and the concerns of the hip-hop generation.
Here is some of what they said:
- Lawrence Aaron, The Record, Hackensack, N.J.:
“The current flap over domestic surveillance, a spreading stain over the Bush administration – which was none too pristine in the first place – is not unprecedented. It’s happened under administrations of both parties. In King’s instance, the domestic spying was condoned by President John Kennedy and his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the same men credited with pushing open the doors of the University of Mississippi and championing other civil rights battles. . . . His only real offense was effective leadership.”
“The surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr.”
- Sylvester Brown, St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
“We can pretend [there are] no disparities fueled by individual and institutionalized racism. We can operate under the illusion that St. Louis isn’t one of the most polarized cities in the nation. We can certainly blame everything on those with separatist agendas. Seems to me, however, King wouldn’t support positions of denial and pretense. He’d expect us to take the painful and uncomfortable steps to resolve the race issue.”
“Variations on King’s words are typical this time of year”
- Tammy L. Carter, Orlando Sentinel:
“King . . . would not want all the fanfare directed at him. . . . Given King’s desire to recognize those who worked diligently for the cause, it’s fitting that two local museums are launching a monthlong project Friday to honor local citizens committed to the dream of racial equality.”
Local museums pay respects to King’s foot soldiers
- Cary Clack, San Antonio Express-News:
“Part of King’s genius is that he knew we may never get to the Promised Land of the Beloved Community, but by trying to be better we are made better.”
“MLK’s legacy is that we’re still trying”
- Karen Hunter, Hartford Courant:
“On this Martin Luther King Day, it’s a good time to reflect on a few of the outstanding black celebrities we lost recently who stepped outside of the glitz of fame and public adulation into leadership roles in keeping with King’s legacy. . . . Lou Rawls . . . August Wilson . . . Ossie Davis . . . Brock Peters.”
- Earl Ofari Hutchinson, AlterNet:
“Many black ministers — including one of King’s daughters — shamelessly and unapologetically evoked King’s name to pound gay rights and same-sex marriage. There’s not a shred of evidence that King would have been a gay rights opponent. Coretta even demanded that one group of ministers cease using his name to back an anti-gay referendum in Miami a few years ago. Yet they still snatch at his legacy and hail MLK Jr. as one of their own.”
- Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe:
“Amazing amnesia. How sweet the white privilege. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Right on time for the King holiday, America is elevating yet another man to lifetime power on the claim of sincere ignorance of his association with racism and sexism.
“. . . Bush made it very clear what forces he wanted to associate with in 2003. The week before that King holiday, Bush threw the weight of the White House behind the white students who wanted to destroy affirmative action at the University of Michigan. Bush will soon have a Supreme Court that can kill it in all programs, along with a woman’s right to choose.”
“A court seat for privilege . . .”
- Colbert I. King, Washington Post:
“No telling what King would make of today’s civil rights leadership in light of the hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. Confused and dismayed might be the answer. . . . the fact that it is likely to lose the Alito fight might well cause King to fear that the America he placed in gear to advance toward full equality for all will now slip into reverse.”
- KRS One, blackelectorate.com:
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. IS THE CHRIST! He is the ‘savior’ of all who believe in him and his words. And as Hiphoppas, we must pay very close attention to the instructions of OUR savior if we are to grow and develop as a truly righteous nation ourselves.”
“The Promised Land – Reflections on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Hip Hop Nation”
- Brian Lewis, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader:
“It’s fashionable to say we’re legitimately threatened by terrorists so we must take the fight to them before they bring it to us. But retaliation and revenge hasn’t brought security for Israel, the modern country with the most extensive experience of terrorism, just an endless cycle of violence.
“That’s what King warned us of.”
“Don’t separate Dr. King from his efforts for peace“
- Dwight Lewis, Nashville Tennessean:
“A group of youngsters here . . . is planning to make a difference Monday, the day the nation celebrates the birth of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
“They’re going to take part in a citywide Martin Luther King Jr. Day program focusing on effective strategies for nonviolent social change youngsters can use to take a stand against violence and hatred.
“. . . Adults here should join in with the young people.”
“Youth use MLK Day to address issue of violence”
- Julianne Malveaux, BET.com:
“More African Americans have income and wealth than we did when Dr. King was living, but one might argue that we do not use that wealth to develop the African-American community. At the bottom, poverty does not have a permanent place on our collective radar screen.
“We may not all agree about ways to interpret Dr. King’s work, but we must reject the sanitized version of him that is trotted out each January. Dr. King did not die dreaming; he died trying to save an America that remains woefully unconcerned about issues of parity, poverty and economic justice.”
“Dr. King Did Not Die Dreaming”
- Roland S. Martin, Creators Syndicate:
“If we choose to continue asking the question, ‘Is King’s dream alive,’ let’s examine the state of economics of African Americans, the high unemployment rate of black men and the massive lack of access to capital. That will be a proper analysis of a speech that changed the world.”
“King’s ‘Dream’ Was More About Economics”
- Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun-Times:
“Instead of any of us trying to profit off of King Day, why don’t we make it a day when Chicago enjoys free passes to everything from museums to sporting events. On King Day, let’s make sure the have-nots in this city have the same access to culture and beauty as the haves. . . . if we allow the King holiday to evolve into a day of shopping instead of a day of service, we would be committing cultural suicide.”
“King Day holiday message: Anybody can serve”
- Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune:
“Were King to look down on us today, he would see that his movement has become more localized. . . . The next frontier, the growing divide between Americans who see opportunities opening up and those who see opportunities shrinking, remains to be conquered. That revolution calls for all of us to be leaders in every corner of American life, as long as we feel what King used to call ‘divinely dissatisfied.'”
“What would King protest today?”
- Les Payne, Newsday:
“Most instructive for King would have been the manner in which Alito moon-walked away from his membership in the exclusive, Concerned Alumni of Princeton club. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy lashed into the judge for bragging about his CAP membership in an application for a job with the Reagan administration. Alito first claimed that he had no memory of actively participating in CAP, and then break-danced around this dim recollection.
“When it seemed possible that Kennedy might tether Alito to the disreputable group, supporters accused the senator of claiming guilt by association. In hoisting CAP membership to impress a potential conservative Reaganite employer, however, Alito himself, appeared to be attempting innocence by association.”
“King would get a kick out of Alito show”
- Anthony Asadullah Samad, BlackCommentator.com:
“Colorblindness has become a barrier to discussion about what made the King phenomenon: racial inequality and social injustice. The desire to be a ‘colorblind society’ called a halt to the discourse on race in America. Without being able to talk about race, you can’t talk about racial disparities, thus you can’t address racial inequities. But, we all profess to believe in the doctrine of King. Not really.”
“The ‘Promised Land’: Why We’re Still Waiting”
- Gregory Stanford, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
“Well, Rev. King, it’s 38 years later, and we’re still wandering in the desert, more hopelessly lost than ever. Frankly, it’s tough to keep the faith.
“When you were cut down, we kept telling ourselves: ‘They can kill the dreamer, but they can’t kill the dream.’
“But I must confess I’ve had my dark moments, when I’ve wondered whether the dream has indeed been slain.”
“Dreams denied, years after ‘I have a dream'”
- Wendi C. Thomas, Memphis Commercial Appeal:
“The short list of today’s inspirational songs is a sad testament to how far we’ve strayed from King’s simple goal of equal rights for all.
“There’s Tupac Shakur’s and Fantasia’s ode to unwed moms. R.Kelly, an accused pedophile, and his pablum, ‘I Believe I Can Fly.’ The saccharine pledge of unity in ‘We Are The World.’ . . . King, I think, would be disappointed in the songs we’ve chosen to sustain us.”
“Reach back to ‘Precious Lord’ to feel King’s power”
- Cynthia Tucker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
“A black-oriented cable channel, BET, plans to air a new unscripted show celebrating Kimberly Jones â?? aka Lil’ Kim â?? for her crimes.
“Is this why the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. made the ultimate sacrifice? Is this why Rosa Parks refused to yield her seat? Did countless civil rights veterans put everything on the line so that, someday, a handful of black men and women could make a fortune encouraging young blacks to lawlessness?
“The popularity of thug culture is among the most serious of modern-day threats to black America, far more dangerous than any lingering institutional racism.”
“Racism pales in comparison to thug culture”
- DeWayne Wickham, USA Today:
“In 1956, King said, ‘If we are to speed up the coming of the new age, we must have the moral courage to stand up and protest against injustice wherever we find it.’
“Alito failed that test. In 1985, when he thought his membership in CAP [Concerned Alumni of Princeton] benefited him, he held it out like a badge of courage. Last week, when he feared his association with it would hurt him, he denounced the organization. The Senate should not be so easily fooled.”
“Alito’s attempt to shed old alliance doesn’t ring true” [Added Jan. 17]
- Armstrong Williams, blackelectorate.com:
“There still exists in mainstream society some subtle expectation that black people do not speak well, and some unconscious belief that black people are less educated. . . . I take heart in the fact that the younger generation of black Americans is finally saying it is time to move beyond the basic covenants of liberalism and finally face who we are and what we need, not solely as blacks, but as individuals. But you know what? The onus should not just be on us.”