The Dithering of a District Diva

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 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.

—Martin Luther King, jr., Washington, D.C., 1963

That was Martin Luther King’s dream over 50 years ago.  But with the disgusting comments left on Yahoo!’s AP article simply announcing the new Martin Luther King Memorial opening in D.C., it is evident that 50 years is really no time at all.  More important than the racial hatred that is still alive and well all over this country is the impact of systemic racism that such attitudes fuel.  Today, Black unemployment stands at 16.7%, more than double that of the White unemployment rate. Though Blacks make up only 13% of the population, a staggering 35.4% of the children living in poverty are Black.  And the historic under-funding of predominantly Black public schools serves to widen the achievement gap between Blacks and Whites, making the leap toward true equality near impossible.

With the State of Black America being still so far away from Martin Luther King’s dream, I find that cancelling the dedication ceremony for the Memorial in D.C. due to Hurricane Irene quite apropos, actually.  Not that creating the Memorial was in any way done too soon; If we waited for true equality to arrive before we honored the actions of this legendary figure in American history, the dedication ceremony may never come.  But we ought to acknowledge that there are still storm clouds over the American Dream when it is in no way accessible to all of her people.  The thunder we hear now is the clamor of prison doors slamming shut on every hope and aspiration, as systemic incarceration becomes the new slavery.  And when too many of our children are under-educated and too many of our people are under-employed, there ought to be more than howling wind and tears. All Americans ought to be inspired to act.

As Aaron McGruder so insightfully proposed in his cartoon series, “The Boondocks,” we can’t wait for MLK to return and save us.  And unlike what the CBC and far too many progressives believe, it is neither within President Obama’s abilities nor responsibility to save us, either.   Here are things WE have the power to do for ourselves:  Since we are systemically targeted for predatory loans or routinely denied access to business loans or given loans with higher interest rates, create family businesses with pooled money. Use your purchasing power to invest in other Black businesses. Use your voting power to elect state and local candidates who are invested in turning unequal access to success on its head.  Send letters and make phone calls to your legislators letting them know that you are watching and that their support and encouragement of inequalities will have consequences at the ballot box.  Invest in the education of our children by supplementing what they aren’t getting through public schools with mentoring. That’s the way to “buy back our 40 acres.”

The MLK Memorial in D.C. is breathtaking, and definitely worth the hike from the Smithsonian metro station.  The majesty of the statute itself is certainly fit for a King.  But most of all, the entire concept of the memorial, that “out of the mountains of despair,” there is “a stone of hope,” reminds us that there is one thing in MLK’s dream that has not been deferred:  the hope that people working together can still change the world.  Will you?

Let justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.

“The Blacktivist,” and I in front of the quote “Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for human rights.
You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country and a finer world to live in.”

Roland Martin & I Showing Skee-Phi Love at the MLK Memorial Luncheon

Actor Laz Alonso, the Blacktivist, and I at the Memorial Luncheon

I was also able to see recording artist Ledisi blow the roof off of the MLK Memorial Luncheon Honoring Women in Civil Rights with her song “Pieces of Me,” with back-up by India.Aire:

And Maya Angelou reciting her poem, “Abundant Hope”:

During the other MLK event that wasn’t cancelled, the Message in the Music Concert, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jesse Jackson, Michael Eric Dyson, Roland Martin, and Patti Labelle. Check out the interviews, here.

Subscribe to The Diva Channel and The Diva Takeover monthly newsletter.

Comments

comments