MLK Day Reflections
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The documents discuss Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy and vision of racial justice. Several contributors reflect on how King warned against a middle-class utopia and comfortable vanity that ignored systemic racism. Others note how King's message has been whitewashed over time and that he advocated for more radical economic and political changes, including criticisms of capitalism. The discussions emphasize continuing to honestly wrestle with King's full vision and push further on addressing racial inequities.
![LivingCitiesTeam Member
Often times, Dr. Kings speeches and writing are mischaracterized and he is made out to
be a rhetorical teddy bear of sorts. In a lot of ways, his legacy has been whitewashed, and
his perceived pacifism is used to silence people of color that deviate from respectability
when addressing white supremacy. I think [Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or
Community] amongst a lot more of his writing and sermons does away with that erroneous
notion. It is a brutal, bold and honest indictment of America that if youre paying attention,
was really not unusual for him. In another one of his most important writing, Letter from a
Birmingham Jail, Dr. King states "We know through painful experience that freedom is never
voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed."
Consideration of his commitment to non-violent resistance is often abbreviated to just non-
violence. Let us always remember that Dr. King was a revolutionary and the core of his work
was resistance.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/mlkdayreflections-180116175242/85/MLK-Day-Reflections-4-320.jpg)
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MLK Day Reflections
- 1. Ben Hecht Ihave realized that I have been one of those White Americans, truly believing that my race-neutral approach and earnest commitment to fair play and steady growth towards a middle-class Utopia would actually work. It doesnt and hasnt even through all of the years that I was sincerely hoping that it would. On this celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.s 89th birthday, I am optimistic about the growing number of white people and leaders, like myself, who finally are realizing that a sincere commitment to justice requires much more. It requires you to take off your rose colored glasses, admit your own complicity in this deception and to run, dont walk, to make up for lost time.
- 2. Joan Springs When I read the passages, as well as most of Dr. Kings spoken words Im reminded how far weve come and yet how much further we must go in order to fully entrench equality across the board. The problem of equality spans across not only our country but basically across the world and although were not going to be able to make a worldwide change at this time, we can attempt to bring about some change in our country. Beginning within our own communities, we as a whole need to continue bringing about awareness to those not already supporting that equal justice for blacks would in turn bring about inclusive economic growth, resulting in gains for all, white, black, Native people, etc. On this years celebration of Dr. Kings birth I am personally thoughtful as to how I as an individual can make an impact, a change, which would move this work forward and make life better for many people who deserve to be on an equal playing field.
- 3. Shanee Helfer As a third generation Holocaust survivor, I know that the reason my family and I exist today is because there were the few who broke their silence and brought the majority to realize "we must speak" as Dr. King says in his speech. All movements begin with the few and it is in the power of people, love and words that movements can sustain themselves and grow to become a majority who change the future for people, community and nations. I carry with me the responsibility to speak in order to ensure the oppression my family was saved from and liberty we have been given does not end with us. Rather it is my voice and the voices that join me who become the continuation of this movement to ensure the liberty I have is provided to all. It is my responsibility to not only speak but to also bring along those who are uncertain if they should speak. I speak as an immigrant. I speak as a white woman. I speak because I know that a few voices can become a movement speaking out and taking action against oppression and creating liberty for all people of our nation and world.
- 4. LivingCitiesTeam Member Often times, Dr. Kings speeches and writing are mischaracterized and he is made out to be a rhetorical teddy bear of sorts. In a lot of ways, his legacy has been whitewashed, and his perceived pacifism is used to silence people of color that deviate from respectability when addressing white supremacy. I think [Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community] amongst a lot more of his writing and sermons does away with that erroneous notion. It is a brutal, bold and honest indictment of America that if youre paying attention, was really not unusual for him. In another one of his most important writing, Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. King states "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." Consideration of his commitment to non-violent resistance is often abbreviated to just non- violence. Let us always remember that Dr. King was a revolutionary and the core of his work was resistance.
- 5. Joseph Sutkowi Ifell in love with Detroit in 2008 in a sociology course on the citys history. For three years in college and five years after, much of my academic and professional life aimed at improving conditions in the city through community development, physical improvements, the arts and education, and by exposing middle class millennials to the city. If the city improved, eventually, slowly, that would serve all of the citys residents. The rising tide would be enough. But the rise was of two Detroits - a growing and gentrifying White midtown and downtown, and a still struggling periphery. The rising tide theory is decidedly disproven. But it was leaders here (and by leaders I imply more than just title or rank) that have helped me realize not just the importance but the imperative of working specifically toward outcomes for people of color. Midtown and downtown werent enough. A career focused on combating poverty and building opportunity for mobility writ large is not enough. We must address race. I believed in the middle-class utopia that Dr. King warned against 51 years ago. I thought I was an ally - that I was on the same team, but in reality I was sitting on the bench. He had warned three years before that the contented white moderate was a bigger stumbling block to justice than the KKK. That was me. Now its not. Over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negros great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice. - Letter from Birmingham City Jail (1963) .
- 6. Jess Fontaine On Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community. This is the root of every white ah-ha moment. Advantages such as support for start retirement funds, and the security of senior care are all assumptions for Americans. However, the foundation and capacity of these advantages are wealth, the financial margins generated over generations within (specifically absence of disadvantage leads young, white generations to assume their circumstance if they are treated fairly at their start, everyone must also be their own starts. They then see the difference in results as difference in MLKs comfortable vanity, seeing people of color as people who made different different effort resulting in their current economic status. When whites realize their inherited wealth and the role it has played in their variable of the equation that we all start the same and opens the gates for a their well-intentioned beliefs in racial justice as a fantasy hindering the hope for
- 7. Jeff Raderstrong The Our God Marching speech has one of my favorite exchanges between Dr. King and his congregation. At the end, there is a call and response of How long? Not long in which King encourages people to not give up the fight, because the justice they seek will be upon them soon. While invigorating, this exchange has always contained a conflicting message for me. King is saying that racial justice is near, yet we know that over 40 years after this speech, the work continues. He also integrates one of my favorite quotes into this call and response, saying that justice is near, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. One could read this and think King was telling us--don't worry, this will all work itself out. But I think taking the question of How long? in conjunction with the opening anecdote of the woman who chose not to take a ride because my feets is tired but my soul is rested, makes me wonder if King wasnt talking about time in the corporeal sense, but instead in the absolute moral sense of desired end point. The arc of the moral universe is long, but it does bend toward justice, because justice is the moral destination. How long? as a question isnt so much about the time it takes, but rather, the ultimate aim of the journey. Like the woman walking with her soul rested, her journey is secondary to her destination. She has justice on her side, so the journey can be as long as it needs to be. Because she lives the values she seeks, she has already reached her destination in her soul. So, I think How long? Not long is at the same time a brilliant acknowledgement of the struggle that Kings congregation faced, that we face, but also the recognition that the struggle has already been won if we can live in justice regardless of what others will do. That doesnt mean we shouldnt work to bend the arc faster, and make the distance shorter, and offer tired women a ride regardless of how rested their soul is, but that we can be energized knowing our destination is there, waiting for us. With that knowledge, the longest journey doesnt seem that long.
- 8. MarlonWilliams My reflection to Dr. Kings pieces takes me to the I Wanna Be Ready section of Alvin Aileys dance performance Revelations (Also, I recommend that everyone watch the full Revelations performance if you ever need food for your soul.) My quick reflections and this performance, Dr. Kings legacy and continuing the movement towards racial equity. Core Strength: This piece is an impressive display of core strength serving as the foundation and re-centering element of the dancers movements. The opening sequence reminds me of how our core strength and values is what allows us to extend outwards and to rise up with confidence, persistence and grace. Re-Centering: Similarly, in moments when the dancers movements retreat, they come back to that core strength, curling inward to reground, before shifting the trajectory of motion back outward and forward. Dr. King stated that the "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.". These movements remind me that the journey has and continues to be long, that we get tired or pushed back along the way, but it is the core strength of our values and vision that allows us to persist and move forward. Urgency of the Work: The lyrics of the song (I want to be ready) provide a powerful context for the movements. The words ask us to reflect on what can we do in our work and life today to push and pull ourselves towards a world of greater equity. The lyrics and the lyrical motion of the dancer speaks to the urgency of contemporary action, the immediacy of the now that is needed in each of our personal journey to arrive with my feets is tired but my soul is rested. .
- 9. Matt Baer When I read the line from A Time to Break the Silence: Peace and civil rights dont mix, and the questions Dr. King received about whether focusing on ending the war was really the concern of a civil rights leader it makes me think about the perceived/imagined conflict some see today between the contemporary civil rights issues of our time and looming global issues like nuclear deterrence, income inequality, etc. In political terms, we hear this as the supposed struggle within liberalism interest group politics vs. broader economic issues everyone can relate to. Democrats supposedly lose elections because they pursue the former at the expense of the latter. I know Ive been guilty of this kind of thinking its a convenient explanation for things sometimes. Dr. King gives us the right answer to this puzzle: that these visions and values are not in opposition, but are part of the same struggle. In a real sense all life is inter-related. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be... This is the inter-related structure of reality. Our liberations are truly bound together. .
- 10. Nadia Owusu Heres a quote from a letter that Dr. King wrote to his wife Coretta: "I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic. And yet I am not so opposed to capitalism that I have failed to see its relative merits. It started out with a noble and high motive, to block the trade monopolies of nobles, but like most human systems it falls victim to the very thing it was revolting against. So today capitalism has outlived its usefulness. It has brought about a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes." As is often the case with great Black leaders, Dr. Kings legacy is often whitewashed. We rarely acknowledge that, at the time, he was considered by many to be dangerous. The FBI looked for dirt on him and harassed him and his family. The media made of him a villain. Today, we talk about him in warm and fuzzy terms, but the truth is that he was a radical. He opposed the War in Vietnam as dangerous militarism and imperialism. He called for a radical redistribution of economic and political power. When he said that he opposed capitalism, he was naming the reality that systems are not neutral. They are imbued with the values of the people who created them and who power them. Still, today, we have as a nation been largely unwilling to have a conversation about how to make capitalism inclusive and useful. I believe that honoring Dr. King should include a more honest and thoughtful wrestling with his ideas, even the ones that make us uncomfortable. We cannot talk about his Dream without talking about what the man himself believed it would take to make it real. .