A King's Legacy: The Martin No One Chooses to Remember

The on-going discourse generated by the re-hashed words of The Reverend Jeremiah Wright underscore our tendency to view history through rose-colored glasses, and romanticized recollections. This Friday, April 4th, our Nation will commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Of course, the day will pass without nearly the fanfare of Dr. King’s birthday, now a National Holiday.

There will be vignettes and vintage film clips immortalizing the March on Washington, and Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. In corners far and wide, Dr. King will be lauded for his Gandhi-like non-violent stance.

What will go under-reported, and largely unacknowledged, is the “so-called” radical side of King. It is so understated in historical recounting that many are unaware it even existed; but it did. In fact, recalling Dr. King’s denunciation of the American Government because of its role in the Vietnam War, and the public outrage that followed, signifies, in a palpable way, that the recent furor over Reverend Wright’s King-inspired comments is indicative of the unfinished business this Country has revolving around the question of race.

Throughout much of the Barack Obama Presidential Campaign, much of the Nation has extolled the virtue of his no harm, no foul brand of politics and approach to campaigning. Senator Obama has been lauded frequently for his restrained, balanced approach to addressing racism as largely a past tense matter. His Change theme, and Yes We Can mantra have filled TV, youtube, and venues large and small with admiring supporters of all stripes; democrats, independents, reborn republicans, black, white, and brown, wealthy, and poor. His adoring legions constitute a proverbial Rainbow Coalition, apologies to the Reverend Jackson.

On the way to securing his Party’s nomination to run for President, a funny thing (not amusing, of course) happened. Jeremiah Wright, in a voice from the past spoke out. Not the months ago past. Not even a year ago past. The comments that surfaced to start the firestorm were made in a sermon nearly 5 years ago, April 13 2003. In his Biblically based remarks, Reverend Wright suggested, in a text taken from Luke 19: 37-44 (reading from the New Revised Standard Version) that God would curse America, in part because of its role in the war in Iraq.

In an eerily similar reference, Dr King presaged a similar fate in a 1967 sermon. It is easy to reflect on America more than 40 years ago, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, and understand that a black man would be censured in a most scathing way for such an assertion. Even invoking a Universal God could not blunt the attacks sure to ensue. But as we near the end of the first full decade of the 21st Century, such intolerance is surely difficult to fathom.
The very concept of such spiteful reactions should be especially challenging for those who claim to have embraced the tenets of Change that Senator Obama espouses. What could possibly explain this chasm between assertions and actions? The one glaring likelihood that occurs to me is we have yet to become the Change we aspire to. I have found neither a present-day GPS, or a future-world transporter to get us there, but I exhort you in the immortal words of Jean-Luc Picard, “Make is so.”

So as Friday nears, and you see depictions of the Washington Mall, the monuments, the throngs, and you hear recordings of the “I have a Dream” speech, remember, Dr. King, a great patriot, rallied that crowd, and inspired them to peaceful and harmonious coexistence.

But recall he challenged the status quo, also. Be reminded that in an ironic twist of fate, MLK delivered a sermon at Riverside Baptist Church, April 4, 1967, one year before his assassination. Never forget, the message, entitled, “A Time to Break Silence (A Declaration Against the Vietnam War)," was a Manifesto; a call for our great Nation to be true to its creed, and a poignant reminder of the fate we would suffer, should we ignore our calling.

I’m done; holla back!

Oh by the way, for anyone headed to, or thinking about San Antonio; GO HEELS!

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