THOUGHTS ON MLK DAY

As we tend to note every year at this time, the official celebration of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in America is a surreal experience. We see and hear messages everywhere extolling his laudable contributions to American progress, his visionary disquisitions on the rocky path to equality, the spiritual heft of his sermons that forced our country to confront its demons and mobilized millions to action.

At the same time, white supremacy is not merely on the march but is the primary plank of one major political party’s platform, as driven by a politician given to nearly constant race-baiting. Racist violence is on the upswing.

Meanwhile, the promises we heard across the culture over the last few years about addressing the systemic racism that continues to pervade our entire society—from the boardrooms to the streets—haven’t borne much fruit. Economic inequality, housing inequality, policing inequality continue to plague us.

Dr. King’s message was not merely about having a nice “dream” about equality. It was about doing the work necessary to have a just society. It was about dismantling the superstructure of racism, though endeavoring to do so would be painful and costly. The man went to prison—and ultimately gave his life—in pursuit of a better world. If we want to honor him in a meaningful way, we need to think about how to build a new, cohesive movement to advance his vision.

Did you know that polls conducted near the end of Dr. King’s life found that a majority of white Americans disapproved of him and even believed he was “hurting the cause of Negro civil rights?” In fact, after he was murdered, nearly a third of respondents to one poll felt he “brought it on himself.”

The well of white supremacy and associated ignorant hatred in this country has always been deep. It cannot be abolished, but it can be disempowered. It will require building new alliances and working tirelessly. But think of what the civil rights movement accomplished in an era of outright segregation.

So let us be inspired by what Dr. King wrote, said and achieved. But let us also put it into action. As he notes in the clip above, "the time is always right to do right."