Don't be disillusioned - institutionalized, deeply ingrained racism is partly to blame. A Northwestern University study proved that a white man with a GED/diploma and a FELONY has more of a chance to get a job than a black man with the same education and NO FELONY! Other studies have shown the same disparities with home, car and small business loan applications. In my city the schools in the neighborhood where the majority of the kids are of color do NOT have enough books to go around. However, in the SAME school district at my son's school they have so many books that they get to keep a copy at home and one at school so they don't have to carry them back and forth!!!
No, Barack Obama and a desent congress cannot change this.
WE ARE THE ONES THAT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR
Honoring King is Not Enough
The day after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot, I went out into the riot-torn Washington, D.C., streets and into schools in those neighborhoods scorched by flames to talk to the children. I went to tell them not to loot and raid, so that they would not get arrested and ruin their futures. A young black boy about 12 or 13 years old looked squarely at me and said, "Lady, what future? I ain't got no future. I ain't got nothing to lose." This young boy spoke the plain truth for himself and millions like him.
Since then, I've spent my life trying to prove this boy wrong. I had no idea how hard it would be, for despite great progress over the past 40 years, so much peril still remains to snuff out the hopes, dreams and lives of millions of our children.
In 1968, in his last Sunday sermon at Washington National Cathedral, Dr. King retold the parable of the rich man, Dives, and the poor man, Lazarus, and reminded us that, "a man went to hell because he didn't see the poor."
"And this could happen to America, the richest nation in the world," he warned.
"There is nothing new about poverty," he said. "What is new is that we now have the means and the know-how to lift every child out of poverty. The real question is whether we have the will!"
So as we mark another anniversary of Dr. King's death, we should also remember that 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of his Poor People's Campaign. The Poor People's Campaign challenged our nation to end the poverty afflicting millions of Americans of all races and confront the entrenched triple evils of racism, excessive materialism in the face of poverty and militarism that threaten our nation and world.
In this rich nation of ours, in 2008, there are 36.5 million Americans still living in poverty, including nearly 13 million children. There are 47 million people in America who have no health coverage, and 9.4 million of those are children.
Too many of us would rather celebrate than follow Dr. King. Some of us have enshrined Dr. King the dreamer, but have ignored Dr. King the disturber of all unjust peace. Many celebrate King the orator, but ignore his words and warnings about the need for reordering the misguided values and priorities he believed to be the seeds of America's downfall. Many remember King the vocal opponent of violence, but not King who called for massive nonviolent civil disobedience to challenge the stockpiling of weapons of death and the wars they fuel.
We choose to ignore his warning that the excessive materialism of the greedy deprives the needy of the basic necessities of life. And as many of us trivialize or sanitize Dr. King's words, we would rather build a monument or name a street or school after him than build the new nation and world he called for. His greatness lay in his willingness to struggle to hear and see the truth; to not give into fear, uncertainty and despair; to continue to grow and to never lose hope, despite every discouragement from his government and even his closest friends and advisers.
Today Dr. King would be delighted that there are thousands of black and brown elected officials across the land and in the corridors of power in many sectors. But he would be appalled that a black boy born in 2001 has a one-in-three chance of going to prison in his lifetime and a Latino boy a one-in-six chance; that 87 percent of black, 83 percent of Latino and 58 percent of white 4th graders cannot read at grade level. He would be outraged that 580,000 black males are serving sentences in state and federal prisons, while fewer than 40,000 black males earn a bachelor's degree each year. And he would be challenging us to root out the still glaring and subtle racial disparities in all our child-serving systems and major institutions in America, which reflect the continued vibrancy of racism in our society.
If we really care about this nation's future, we must assign ourselves the personal responsibility to be a voice for justice for children and the poor in these scary and turbulent times. We still face the threats Dr. King spoke of: war, terrorism and greed in uncertain economic times.
A lot of people are waiting for Dr. King to reappear and save us, but he's not coming back--we're it. Some people think that if we just elect a new president and Congress, every problem will be solved. A caring president and a more enlightened Congress will make a difference, but they won't bring the transforming changes our nation and the world need if we don't build the movement to push them. It took the Civil Rights Movement to make Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson and Congress respond.
Too many of our children are still in failing schools or living in violent neighborhoods. Their parents are working hard but cannot bring home enough to provide them secure shelter, food and adequate care. We need a new movement to secure our future and our promises to our children. Whatever the risk, each of us must demand that our leaders listen, then act in the best interest of all our children. You and I must also do the right thing for children--right now. You and I must vote, organize and inform ourselves about how well our leaders are protecting children, and then hold them accountable.
We do not have a money problem in America; we have a profound values and priorities problem. Imagine the kind of nation and world we could build if we decided that people are more important than profit and property. How truly wonderful America would be if, as Dr. King urged, we really invested in peace rather than war. We must never give in to despair or give up. We must keep moving.
I first heard and was inspired by Dr. King in 1960, when he spoke at my alma mater, Spelman College, in Sisters Chapel. He told us to always keep moving: "If you cannot fly, drive; if you cannot drive, run; if you cannot run, walk; if you cannot walk, crawl. But keep moving. Keep moving forward." And fight with all our might those who seek to move us backwards. We must keep these words in mind to continue the fight to fulfill Dr. King's vision of a new world and beloved community for all our children.
This article first appeared in The Root's "MLK 40 Years Later: Still Searching for the Promise Land" series.
The Root is a daily online magazine that blends intelligent, thought-provoking discussion of issues from a variety of black perspectives; provides a round-up of news from around the world; features penetrating, lively commentary on political, social and cultural issues; and showcases the breadth and depth of viewpoints currently shaping black culture.
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"There is nothing new about poverty. What is new is that we now have the means and the know-how to lift every child out of poverty."
Jesus said the poor will always be with us.
If we "lift every child out of poverty", the definition of "poverty" will change, placing them back in "poverty". We live in the richest country on the planet, and our definition of poverty includes people better off than a large majority of the world population. Someone can live in a big house, have two cars in the driveway, a big plasma TV on the wall, a cell phone in their pocket, and still be called "poor".
If we truly want to relieve human suffering, we shouldn't spend anything here in the US. We should send ALL our money to third world countries where they truly ARE poor.
People that already donate to charity are forgotten in the idea that "we" can end poverty. I can't end poverty, but I can have charity. A government bureaucracy may be able to spend a LOT of money on poverty, but it absolutely cannot have charity. By attempting to supplant personal giving by saying the government is going to solve poverty doesn't extend charity, it destroys it.
Helping someone in need is an act of Christian love. That's what Jesus was talking about in the parable. It's about charity. Sending in your taxes isn't an act of love. Opening your government check isn't an act of charity.
Listen to this great and timely speech by King:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=b80Bsw0UG-U
It's the little seeds they plant that is important. We must protect these seeds and let them grown. Like my daughter: I never noticed it before. It has been there for a while. This picture of Martin Luther King Jr on our fridge door. I hardly look at the fridge door, but there it was. Amongst all the fridge magnets and numbers and pictures of the kids. But what made me stop was that the picture was of a white Martin Luther King Jr. My young daughter made this great man white. And I couldn"t be prouder. I think he would be proud. I know she will continue to live his dream. http://angryafrican.net/2008/03/16/martin-luther-king-jr-is-white/
In 1992 I volunteered in a facility in Chicago that served babies born at Cook County addicted to crack and children under 4yrs taken by the police from situations of abuse. The crack babies spent their first months withdrawing. They were tiny , shaking, convulsing, unable to sleep. I spent many hours rocking, singing lullabies and quiet hymns to try to bring some comfort.
But the kids brought in by the police, were the most troubling. Boys, three and four, who had no words, no sounds, who didn't know their own names and were still in diapers. They were more scared and confused than angry, so their outbursts of physical energy and strength were more chaotically than intentionally destructive.
I think of those boys, now fifteen, sixteen and wonder how with no words at three they could ever have learned to read. Did their confusion and fear turn to anger? Who have they been told to blame for their abuse and neglect?
Our group group of loving dedicated volunteers, gave their time to take care of these horribly damaged and abused children, abandoned by their parents. We were doing something that the government cannot and must not be expected to do. It is the responsibility of parents, not the government, to care for their children so they will grow to be confident and self-respecting adults.
Anyone who thinks that the government can or should wave a magic wand to make this responsibility go away is deluded and dangerous.
Thank you, good comment. As Bill Cosby said, "C'mon People!!" The door was opened by the strength and sacrifices of wonderful people who demanded to be heard. For awhile everyone worked together......then families stopped taking responsibility for their own. The only way to move above where you are is within yourselves. I have been fighting for equality for all for a long time but, when the people that I fight for let me down.....I cry. I believe that we need to keep fighting but, at the same time...clean up the drugs and the racial slurs....not amongst the opposite races but amongst yourselves. Fight, fight, fight for yourselves and take care of your children. Teach them. Don't count on someone else to teach. If they can't read....sit down and teach them. If you can't read.....go to the library and teach yourself. C'mon People!!!!!
Ah, Marian Wright Edelman...the person Hillary no longer speaks to. Hillary's old mentor and dear friend is no longer either of those things to Hillary. So when you hear Hillary lament about children and their futures, ask her how is it still working with the Children's Defense Fund to move an agenda for disinfranchised children in this country. Oops, Hillary has stepped away from that relationship with the CDF...How is it that one of the most pre-eminent women in child advocacy in America is no longer on Hillary Clinton's rolodex?
Some people are so afraid of agitators that they would like to take them out of their washing machines, however we all need to remember it is the agitator that gets the dirt out.
"it is the agitator that gets the dirt out."
Now THAT'S worth remembering! Kudos!
So why isn't the Black Community still teaching MLK's vision instead of "poor pitiful me"?
When will you stop stereotyping, you do not speak for everyone. See the problem is not us minorities. We are not pitiful or feel bad for ourselves, but we feel bad for people like you that still to this day do not understand that a sterotype and a racist remark is the same SH_T. Why don't you do something and be an example of yourself of how much you understand and know the history of the minority American and answer your own thoughts and concerns or do you think by tanning youself at the beach gives you an insight of us minorities.
Based on what I have read, the so viciously reviled Pastor Wright and his Trinity Church were doing just that: preaching against social injustices/inequities, against unjust wars of aggression, advocating for individual and community responsibility, advocating national policies of peace instead of violence, for a return to valuing people over greed and profit. For this, and because of gross misrepresentation of him and his church by the MSM, Pastor Wright has---like MLK before him--- reaped unfair hatred, criticism, and derision by those who are apparently frightened by anyone who challenges or questions the status quo of our societal and national policies!
I remember quite well that MLK, though rightly honored and revered today, was then considered a threat to our government, the so-called "peace" of a segregated society, and was hated by our government and most whites! We honor him now for his role in ending segregation, but this country still has a LONG way to go before we are willing to listen to MLK's words regarding our national policies about war, weaponry, and economic/social injustices! The recent hysterical reaction to Wright's comments are Exhibit #1!
Are you in the African American community? Then what information did you base your assessment on - please advise. Unfortunately, your comprehension skills are inadequate. The African American community teaches dignity, responsibility, accountability, and economic empowerment, therefore, don't insult an entire community based upon stereotypical misinformation from uninformed and biased media sources. Please do not equate the stance of exposing institutionalized racism with pity. All African Americans request that others provide is equality, not pity. It is ridiculous that some of you still act as if African Americans are not hard working citizens that deserve the same opportunities as everyone else. Your only reasoning is "blacks are always complaining" instead of assessing situations objectively. Now, provide a basis for your rationale and tell me situations/incidents where African Americans are asking for pity!
Maybe if whites starting complaining about anything but Black people, something might happen!
Suggest you read Walter Williams column in "Black Colleges" that was issued for national release on or about January 15, 2008. All African Americans are not asking for equal opportunity, just give them a bunch of money.
Thank you for pointing out that Dr. King was a complex man - although he is usually thought of as a civil rights leader, he was more than that. He was against the war in Vietnam. He spoke out against a society that did not treat everyone with a level of respect and fair treatment.
Unfortunately, Dr. King is remembered by many only to be someone who worked towards improving the lives of African-Americans in the South. His life should mean more than just that. The federal holiday that takes place in honor of his birth (and life) is, for many, the reason for a 3-day weekend in January.
4/4/08 seemed to be more a day for some people to try to score some political points in the November elections. In remembering Dr. King, it looks like many of us still aren't paying attention to what he actually stood for.
Thank you for this! We do need to pay attention to the poor in this country. Schools must be improved and jobs need to be created (in areas other than weapons production) that provide living wages for the citizens of this country..not WalMart wages. We need full single-payer health coverage and decent schooling for everyone. We could begin by ceasing to fund wars and concentrating on educating our young people and creating meaningful, well-paying jobs. We surely could create some good jobs in alternative energy programs. This country has been guilty of preparing its citizens to become mindless consumers..not thinking citizens. I happen to think this has been done on purpose because citizens who are capable of critical thinking may be a threat to the ruling oligarchs. Things must change quickly. Thank you again for this thoughtful article....And if we don't care for our poor..they will rise up and there will be a big terrible mess..
There IS opportunity out there to educate and improve yourself. And yes, this does threaten the "oligarchs". I'm surprised you left out there biggest weapon, which is immigration.
Just last week Bill Gates was talking about how we need more foreign workers. This despite unemployment increasing among highly skilled workers. The problem is that highly skilled Americans expect a fair salary and not to be exploited. If they ship someone in from China, they can exploit them easily. If things don't "work out" they can revoke their visa and ship them back home on a moment's notice. So you end up with people here driving the wages down that are working like slaves because their life depends on keeping the boss happy. Sure, Americans can work like slaves too. I'm not suggesting that we CAN'T compete, because we absolutely can. But by using immigration policy to exploit overseas workers they reduce wages, they reduce the number of available jobs (because everyone's working much harder and have higher productivity), and they reduce job satisfaction.
They don't want people poor and stupid. They want people highly educated, and highly skilled, yet utterly subservient, and willing to work for next to nothing. Since most Americans won't play that game, they exploit immigrants to reach their goal.
I still can't figure out why the left is so fixated on open borders and unlimited immigration. It flies directly in the face of so many issues they claim to support.
THANK YOU for this very apt article. THANK YOU!
Thanks for reminding us of the King Who Must Never Be Mentioned.
An edifice that produces beggars needs restructuring.
This is a very intelligent article. Really outstanding but if we could reduce the excessively sanctimonious comments to well thought out and simply expressed comments so that a serious reader of comments can
understand and appreciate what the thinking and feeling is of the mainstream HuffPost reader. I suppose this could apply to anything on the Huffpost but I think this issue requires the very best of comments.
Rev. KIng was a great visionary and a kind man.
Today, he would be disgusted with rap music, the failure of black men to care for their children, and the glorification of violence via the music and culture within the African-American community. Don't say I am racist, because he would deplore it all.
Racism can only be part of the problem within the community, the community itself must begin to say that it is not allright to glorify violence and thuggery, to confront the men who have multiple children and never care for them, and the pressure within the community which taunts and denegrates the children who try to do well in school, and who try to succeed. Instead, they idolize rap thugs, dress with their pants halfway to their knees, drop out of school, instead of sticking in there, and have children which they are not prepared to nurture.
Other than for you last sentence, I agree with you completely.
The last sentence is over-generalizing. If the 'they' you refer to are the (minority of ) men/youth in our community who do such things, then I also agree with it.
I'm a 25-yr-old black male (and a PhD candidate and no kids...yet). This is why I think the attacks on Trinity United were off-base. No one in the MSM mentioned how the most controversial things said by Dr. Wright were against the SAME youth you just mentioned.
And I don't agree at all.
"Racism can only be part of the problem within the community..." -- this statement speaks volumes, as if black people are solely responsible for the racism ingrained into the American system.
There is a much larger issue here...namely that we are not just "black" but are also Americans.
When people try to act is if the "black" community is something seperate from the American community, all this does is further the problems which King spoke of during his era.
If it were white youth who were (predominately) behaving this way, it would be seen as an "American" problem, and it should be no different when it is "black" youth who behave this way.
It is always easy to point the finger at others and blame them for their problems -- this solves nothing.
King's vision is not for "black" America, but for all Americans, and maintaining such divisions only moves us away from his goals, rather than towards them.
Had Martin Luther King been merely a man of peace, he would have lived a right and praiseworthy life. He certainly would have influenced those in his family, his social sphere and his church. He wouldn"t have, however, altered the world.
The man who was awarded the Peace Prize was a warrior who never threw a punch. While Reverend King was gentle enough to abhor violence, he was also courageous enough to know that centuries of intolerance and distrust and misunderstanding would be altered only at great jeopardy. He took that risk, not as a martyr, but as a commander leading the way.
Too many good meaning people now equate non-violence with deferral. They assume kindheartedness and strength are mutually exclusive. They confuse rocking the boat with sinking the boat. Too many good people believe the road to social change and progressive advancement is paved with safe intellectual agreement and not with getting bloodied while fighting the ugliness of bigotry, injustice, hatred, poverty and greed.
Dr. King should be remembered as what made him great- a trouble maker who saw civil disobedience as a method with which to deliver a wake-up call to a largely unaware nation. Nonviolence gave him strength. Altruism made him fearless. Audacity in the face of convention gave him success.
We need more trouble makers.
Thanks for this article to redirect us from hollow homages and lip service instead of learning from the lessons taught by Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement.
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Posted April 4, 2008 | 05:35 PM (EST)