“The King is dead, the King of Love is dead…I ain’t ‘bout to be non-violent, honey.”
— Nina Simone, “Mississippi Goddam”
It’s times like this where I think it’s important to look back at the past, take stock of how far we have come.
There was a point in time, a mere half-century ago, where the color of a person’s skin determined whether they could take a sip of water from a particular water fountain, take a seat in a certain section of public transportation, or be permitted to even enter and patronize a hotel.
The legal justification of racism in this country no longer exists. That is the public, legal justification. Racism is still prevalent in this nation, deep within the bones, flowing through the veins.
“Southern trees bear a strange fruit,
Blood on the leaves and blood at the root…”— Abel Meeropol, “Strange Fruit”
American racism is a special beast, individual to our country and the “New World.” The huddled masses, yearning to breathe free, were scared that there wasn’t enough air for all of them. They wanted room to breathe, they wanted the air all to themselves. They fought each other, painting lines in the sand from the purple mountains majesties all the way across the fruited plains.
They bombed a church with little girls in it. They hung men and women by their necks, watched their eyes bulge. They put them in camps, forced them to speak and think a particular way, called them “chink” or “redskin.” They said the country was closed, no more room for a particular type of huddled mass. Said there was no need to apply, said they should go back to their country.
They painted this country red, made others clean it up.
Racism and prejudice of all varieties can be found in the hearts and minds of every person in every corner of this little blue dot that floats quietly in the vacuum of space — no air to breathe out there.
The King knew this, he preached about it.
“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be engulfed, every hill shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream,” 1963
Racism is irrational, it has no founding in logic. The attributes and stereotypes that we assign each other based on factors out of our control are derived purely from the machinations of man — tools to shape and subjugate humanity for their own gain.
We are all of the same tribe, those plucky bipedal apes who managed to realize that there was more to this little blue dot than sitting around a fire and grunting at hairy elephants. The family spread out, lost contact with each other, got interested in different things, explained the unknown with fairy tales and fables.
They thought the universe revolved around them, we all do.
That’s what made them human, that’s what makes us flawed.
We are each our own universe, still sitting around and grunting.
They shot the King in Memphis.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.’”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream,” 1963
No human is without flaw, no mind is free of prejudice. We are still animals, young and scared. The King knew this, he was scared as well. He was scared of what animals can do when they feel threatened, when they feel they’re backed into a corner.
When they think that someone else wants to breathe their air.
He told us to turn the other cheek, pray for and love your enemies, put our faith in the moral arc of the universe, assured us that it bends toward justice. Assured us that he could see the Promised Land, told the striking sanitation workers of Memphis, Tennessee that he could see the Promised Land.
Do they let people breathe in the Promised Land?
He asked Ben Branch to play “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” at the meeting that night, then he ran out of breathe. He asked him to “play it real pretty.”
When my way grows drear, precious Lord, linger near,
When my light is almost gone,
Hear my cry, hear my call,
Hold my hand lest I fall,
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home…— Thomas A. Dorsey, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord”
We were taught that the King solved the original sin of our nation, brought all children to the seat at the table. We were told that the King was beloved by all, celebrated by a nation that practices peace and despises conflict. We were told that his death was not in vain, that the nation witnessed a new birth of freedom.
75% of the nation disapproved of the King when he died.
“And one day we must ask the question, ‘Why are there forty million poor people in America?’ And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising questions about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy. And I’m simply saying that more and more, we’ve got to begin to ask questions about the whole society…”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Speech to Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 1967
The hatred that sent a bullet through the neck of the King is still etched into every brick in this country’s foundation. The fear that causes innocent people to be lynched at the hands of supposed “peacekeepers” still lingers in the hearts of all of us. The anger that allows entire peoples to be subjugated to the will of tyrants and madmen still guides the actions of millions, erodes the spirit of liberty.
The sins of the father….
I want to sit at the table he described, I want my kids and their kids to do the same. I want his death to not have been in vain, to live in a world where the primal hatred he died fighting is thought of in the same manner we view those first primitive ancestors of ours who managed to leave the cave, turned grunts into sermons.
I want to see the Promised Land.
“Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” April 3rd, 1968
