Keeping Dr. King Alive
During my life, many MLK Day have come and gone, often uncelebrated. When I worked in housing on a college campus, I was opening my building, and as an assistant dean of students, the university I worked for was open and meetings were scheduled as usual. Recognizing the infrequency of my honoring the legacy of Dr. King during this “day off,” I decided to do something different this a few years ago. I decided to act with intention in a simple way, by reading some of Dr. King’s work.
The idea came from a passage out of bell hook’s Teaching to Transgress. Slowly, I had been paging through her book, and read a chapter where she quotes MLK. The quote struck me, and I decided to find the book from which the quote came. Hastily, I went to my university’s library on a Sunday to pick up Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community from the stacks on the third floor. It was easy to find.
Two-hundred pages stared me down right before Monday – MLK Day. There was no way I could read it all. So, I committed myself to the first chapter, a primer to inform my thoughts and provide inspiration for this post. Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community was first published in 1968. Now more than 50 years later, King’s questions, reflections, insights, and teachings still hold as American society attempts to navigate and resolve inequality.
Several sections from the first chapter sat with me as I read. However, the following excerpt rang true and timeless:
“Why is equality so assiduously avoided? Why does white America delude itself, and how does it rationalize the evil it retains? The majority of white Americans consider themselves sincerely committed to justice for the Negro. They believe that American society is essentially hospitable to fair play and to steady growth toward a middle-class Utopia embodying racial harmony. But unfortunately this is a fantasy of self-deception and comfortable vanity. Overwhelmingly America is still strugglingly with irresolution and contradictions. It has been sincere and even ardent in welcoming some change. But too quickly apathy and disinterest rise to surface when the next logical steps are to be taken” (King, 1968, p. 5).
The opening question is a profound one as we continue to live in an unequal society. Statistics about the distribution of wealth, or observations of where and how people live make this question very clear. King’s assessment in his book highlights the cost it would take to achieve equality. Many of the landmarks during the Civil Rights Era of the 1960’s didn’t cost a lot. For example, allowing black folks to sit at a lunch counter, ride the bus, or even vote took more change among the psyche and values of white American society than it did the wallets. Yet, the real change towards equality, which we still aspire to, will cost, and it’s clear that we are unwilling to pay for it. We are unwilling to provide high quality education for all. We are unwilling to create affordable quality housing. We are unwilling to demonstrate a commitment to the health and well being of all of America’s citizenry.
Further, King continues in the previous excerpt to share that white Americans “believe that American society is essentially hospitable to fair play and to steady growth toward a middle-class Utopia embodying racial harmony” (p 5). Currently, it is this exact belief that slows the work of justice and equity. Thinking of the United States as essentially fair and hospitable makes it difficult to see and engage the systemic inequality that American society perpetuates. Conversely, if more people, particularly those in power, viewed American society as inherently unequal, possibly more energy could be placed in resolving inequity.
Finally, the excerpt ends with a statement about the rise of apathy and disinterest when logical steps are to be taken to resolve inequality. Seemingly the fervor and passion that one has towards eradicating racism, sexism, or homophobia fades when they engage a possible solution. Why is that? Simply, taking the logical next steps, often means that one would have to give something up. White people will not receive the same benefits once we achieve racial justice. Men will not maintain power once women are treated equitably. And heterosexual people will not define normative culture once space is afforded and recognition is given to queer-identified folks. The point here is that it isn’t serendipitous that disinterest rises, rather it is as a result of the realization of what it means for dominant-identified folks to give up, create space, and make room for marginalized people. A simple response to King’s observation in the excerpt.
Analysis, interpretation, and application of Dr. King’s words to American society today could continue, as what I have shared only scratches the surface. For me (and hopefully for my readers), it is the action of taking the exact work of an incredible leader and translating it for today that is significant. Each year, many of us get this “day off,” yet do nothing to make meaning or better understand the contribution of Dr. King. This post was a small attempt.
Domonic Rollins
King, M. L., King, C. S., & Harding, V. (2010). Where do we go from here: Chaos or community?. Boston: Beacon Press