Martin Luther King Jr. Day

[bluess]

Here's me being soppy and appreciative.

Mr. Blue and I got to explaining to Blue2 last night why the US would be taking a holiday. We listing benefits from the the civil rights movement, including:

1. Mr.Blue and I would probably have not met and certainly would not have married.

2. Blue2 would probably have not met and certainly would not be best friends with a little white girl.

3. Blue2 would be in a school with only other brown, black and yellow people - no whites.

4. We wouldn't live in the same neighborhood.

5. Someone would see her and decide she couldn't play someplace because she was brown.

And so on....

After listening and asking a few questions, there a was a bit of silence. And then, from the back seat (we were in the car), there came a clear little voice saying "Someone wouldn't think you were smart because you were brown? That's just STUPID."

[Upchurch]

1. Mr.Blue and I would probably have not met and certainly would not have married.
Just for clarification for those of us who don't pay very close attention, you and Mr. Blue are a mix race couple?

eta: and cudos to Blue2 for figuring out in one evening what much of the world still hasn't figured out.

[Cleon]

eta: and cudos to Blue2 for figuring out in one evening what much of the world still hasn't figured out.

Heh, very true.

Here in Atlanta, King's legacy is very strong. Coretta just died this past year, and they're both interred next to Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached. Many other leaders of the civil rights movement still live here and are often very active in social justice issues. Personally, I know at least three people who knew and worked closely with MLK.

I always find myself introspective on MLK day. I try to think about what King's legacy means today, in this world. Many of the issues he addressed are still with us; oppression and injustice will be evils that human beings will be dealing with long after we're gone.

I suppose what makes King special is his steadfastness; his unwillingness to look injustice in the eye and not speak out against it. They did everything in their power; threats, abuse, terrorism, intimidation. They tried to discredit him, calling him a Communist and a womanizer. Eventually, they even took his life. He never backed down.

A great man indeed.


Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today my friends - so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.


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."


I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.


I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.


I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.


I have a dream today.


I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification - one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.


I have a dream today.


I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.


This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.


This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"


And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.


Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.


But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.


Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.


Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi - from every mountainside.


Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring - when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children - black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

[delphi_ote]

Happy Pigment is Irrelevant Day, everyone.

[fuelair]

Here's me being soppy and appreciative.

Mr. Blue and I got to explaining to Blue2 last night why the US would be taking a holiday. We listing benefits from the the civil rights movement, including:

1. Mr.Blue and I would probably have not met and certainly would not have married.

2. Blue2 would probably have not met and certainly would not be best friends with a little white girl.

3. Blue2 would be in a school with only other brown, black and yellow people - no whites.

4. We wouldn't live in the same neighborhood.

5. Someone would see her and decide she couldn't play someplace because she was brown.

And so on....

After listening and asking a few questions, there a was a bit of silence. And then, from the back seat (we were in the car), there came a clear little voice saying "Someone wouldn't think you were smart because you were brown? That's just STUPID."

Blue 2 sounds cool!!

[bluess]

Just for clarification for those of us who don't pay very close attention, you and Mr. Blue are a mix race couple?

eta: and cudos to Blue2 for figuring out in one evening what much of the world still hasn't figured out.

Mr.Blue is a big white boy from New Jersey. I'm from India. And lest you believe that racial discrimination is a 'white/black' thing, we've gotten less-than-charming reactions from Indians regarding our relationship. Of course, we've been married for twenty years now, and almost all of my cousins are in 'mixed' marriages.



Heh, very true.

Here in Atlanta, King's legacy is very strong. Coretta just died this past year, and they're both interred next to Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached. Many other leaders of the civil rights movement still live here and are often very active in social justice issues. Personally, I know at least three people who knew and worked closely with MLK.

I always find myself introspective on MLK day. I try to think about what King's legacy means today, in this world. Many of the issues he addressed are still with us; oppression and injustice will be evils that human beings will be dealing with long after we're gone.

I suppose what makes King special is his steadfastness; his unwillingness to look injustice in the eye and not speak out against it. They did everything in their power; threats, abuse, terrorism, intimidation. They tried to discredit him, calling him a Communist and a womanizer. Eventually, they even took his life. He never backed down.

A great man indeed.

There was a moment where Mr.Blue and I were quoting from King's speech in unison. 'The content of their character' is one of the lines that rang out.

Blue 2 sounds cool!!

Yeah, she is. Of course, I'm her mom and would think that even if she was drooling. :D

[joobie]

i have heard several people on the street complain about what a travesty it is we're celebrating a holiday (well, i have to work anyway, but i hope you get the gist) for a black man (that isn't the word they used).

for some reason none of them seemed unhappy they weren't at work. or volunteering, as many people do on MLK day.

[Upchurch]

Mr.Blue is a big white boy from New Jersey. I'm from India. And lest you believe that racial discrimination is a 'white/black' thing, we've gotten less-than-charming reactions from Indians regarding our relationship. Of course, we've been married for twenty years now, and almost all of my cousins are in 'mixed' marriages.
No, no. I fully understand that racism knows no borders. I just have a morbid curiosity for context.

[bluess]

My favorite head-up-your-a$$ statement came from a colleague of my father, who said something about my dad's 'American' son-in-law running a business. My dad regarded him for a moment and answered that his son was doing just fine, thank you.

Both set of parents were fine, but some of the relatives, whooowee.

[jsfisher]

Mr.Blue is a big white boy from New Jersey.
You married someone from NEW JERSEY?? Didn't your parents raise you better?

[bluess]

You married someone from NEW JERSEY?? Didn't your parents raise you better?

I believe in comparison to my lame-a$$ high school friends, they were delighted.

But point well taken. :D

[schplurg]

Just for clarification for those of us who don't pay very close attention, you and Mr. Blue are a mix race couple?

eta: and cudos to Blue2 for figuring out in one evening what much of the world still hasn't figured out.
Actually people aren't born racists, they learn it as they go. A non-racist kid is not surprising. A non-racist adult? Now that's something worth mentioning.

[Dave1001]

Heh, very true.

Here in Atlanta, King's legacy is very strong. Coretta just died this past year, and they're both interred next to Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King preached. Many other leaders of the civil rights movement still live here and are often very active in social justice issues. Personally, I know at least three people who knew and worked closely with MLK.

I always find myself introspective on MLK day. I try to think about what King's legacy means today, in this world. Many of the issues he addressed are still with us; oppression and injustice will be evils that human beings will be dealing with long after we're gone.

I suppose what makes King special is his steadfastness; his unwillingness to look injustice in the eye and not speak out against it. They did everything in their power; threats, abuse, terrorism, intimidation. They tried to discredit him, calling him a Communist and a womanizer. Eventually, they even took his life. He never backed down.

A great man indeed.

Communist? I don't think so but I think the evidence is pretty strong that he was a womanizer (or more specifically, that he had sex with women besides his children's mother, after they were born) and a plagiarist. As for the repeated use of "they"- that sounds rather CT. In my opinion, he's a lot like Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and other icons. We know about them not because they did the most good (many of us think rather the reverse is true, in Mother Teresa's case), but because they were the most successful self-promoters within their movements. And in that might be a very practical real world lesson for us all. ;)

[BPSCG]

In a recent survey of college students on U.S. civic literacy, more than 81 percent knew that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was expressing hope for "racial justice and brotherhood" in his historic "I Have a Dream" speech.

That's the good news.

Most of the rest surveyed thought King was advocating the abolition of slavery.

The findings indicate that years of efforts by primary and secondary schools to steep young people in the basics of the civil rights leader's life and activities have resulted in a mixed bag. Most college students know who he is -- even if they're not quite clear on what he worked to achieve.
Link (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/14/AR2007011401026.html).

Some people shouldn't be allowed to vote, regardless of the color of their skin or the contents of their character. :(

[rikzilla]

Bluess,

After having met you I know how lucky your white-boy hubby is! ;) Your sense of humor alone transcends any limitations anyone would ever try and hang on you.

The African American community jealously guards the legacy of MLK; but truly it belongs to us all. We have all been enriched by the opportunity to know each other as equals instead of fearing/hating each other along racial lines. The whole us/them dichotomy is in essence the root of human suffering. MLK put forward an idea...and that idea transcends race...his was a gift to all humanity and it sure would be nice if that idea could spread farther and faster in this world.

-z

[Darth Rotor]

After listening and asking a few questions, there a was a bit of silence. And then, from the back seat (we were in the car), there came a clear little voice saying "Someone wouldn't think you were smart because you were brown? That's just STUPID."
Good points, but I think the MLK holiday focuses too much on the Dr, and not enough what he was about.

Also: August has no Holidays. January starts the year with one.

I think it would be better to have the holiday be "Civil Rights Day" like Memorial and Veterans Days are broad brush holidays, commemorations of a kind of people, and what they did for our country. Depersonalize it, and emphasize the Civil Rights cause and movement, rather than a man who is on the border of becoming a cult-like figure. Dr King did well, he did something very important as a leader, and he was willing to risk his life for the movement that ultimately was important for America's societal health.

Lincoln and Washington holidays were scotched, for "President's Day." They were both originally personal holidays, and I find them both far more important than Dr King, for all his impact in the recent past.

Without Washington, no country. Without Lincoln, no united States as we know it today, where a Dr King can happen. Dr King stood on the shoulders of giants, though he did indeed stand tall. :)

His speech of 28 August, 1963 (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm), is a succinct example of why the Civil Rights movement was important. Why not also honor Susan B Anthony, and other suffregettes on a Civil Rights day as a national holiday? It fits together well.

Make the holiday more about the American Civil Rights movement, which continues, and make it less about an icon. Focus not on the Messenger, but rather on The Message.

That would make sense to me. It would also cut the emphasis of race off at the knees, which I think played into the old Arizona rejection of the holiday when it came out, and such oddities as the Town of Wallingford CT not honoring the holiday.

*riff from Living Color's "Cult of Personality" to close out the post*

DR

[bluess]

Well, Darth, I agree with you.

The message is obviously lost if time was spent at the public elementary school discussing the holiday without stating the obvious. And Blue2 is damn smart (no, not just because her adoring mother says) - if the actual content of the struggle had been discussed during the school day, she would have come back to discuss it with us.

[Beerina]

Communist? I don't think so but I think the evidence is pretty strong that he was a womanizer (or more specifically, that he had sex with women besides his children's mother, after they were born) and a plagiarist. As for the repeated use of "they"- that sounds rather CT. In my opinion, he's a lot like Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and other icons. We know about them not because they did the most good (many of us think rather the reverse is true, in Mother Teresa's case), but because they were the most successful self-promoters within their movements. And in that might be a very practical real world lesson for us all. ;)

IIRC, one of the CT's regarding King is that he was planning on an enormous march on Washington to demand redistribution of wealth. So he had to go. :rolleyes:

[Dave1001]

Good points, but I think the MLK holiday focuses too much on the Dr, and not enough what he was about.

Also: August has no Holidays. January starts the year with one.

I think it would be better to have the holiday be "Civil Rights Day" like Memorial and Veterans Days are broad brush holidays, commemorations of a kind of people, and what they did for our country. Depersonalize it, and emphasize the Civil Rights cause and movement, rather than a man who is on the border of becoming a cult-like figure. Dr King did well, he did something very important as a leader, and he was willing to risk his life for the movement that ultimately was important for America's societal health.

Lincoln and Washington holidays were scotched, for "President's Day." They were both originally personal holidays, and I find them both far more important than Dr King, for all his impact in the recent past.

Without Washington, no country. Without Lincoln, no united States as we know it today, where a Dr King can happen. Dr King stood on the shoulders of giants, though he did indeed stand tall. :)

His speech of 28 August, 1963 (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm), is a succinct example of why the Civil Rights movement was important. Why not also honor Susan B Anthony, and other suffregettes on a Civil Rights day as a national holiday? It fits together well.

Make the holiday more about the American Civil Rights movement, which continues, and make it less about an icon. Focus not on the Messenger, but rather on The Message.

That would make sense to me. It would also cut the emphasis of race off at the knees, which I think played into the old Arizona rejection of the holiday when it came out, and such oddities as the Town of Wallingford CT not honoring the holiday.

*riff from Living Color's "Cult of Personality" to close out the post*

DR

Great points. I agree with this post 100%. Perhaps a Darth Rotor holiday is in order. :p

[jsfisher]

I think it would be better to have the holiday be "Civil Rights Day"....
My recollection of Martin Luther King was he carried a message of equality for all. A Civil Rights Day, to me at least, emphasizes how we may still be different rather than how we should all be treated the same.