Integrating Into the Burning House - Thoughts on MLK’s Birthday

Today is Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Last night I watched a film that compiled raw clips from MLK’s activism during the 60s and it got me thinking. We need to look less at what he said, and more at what he DID. Honestly, I think if he saw the state that black people & this whole country is in today, he’d be devastated. When I saw footage of young protestors being attacked with police dogs and sprayed with fire hoses, it looked just like some scenes from Ferguson. Black folks literally fighting just for the basic acknowledgement that the color of their skin doesn’t make them any less valuable as a person. The film also showed clips of KKK rallies, politicians defending Jim Crow, and white citizens protesting against desegregation. Today we still have hate groups like the KKK and the Tea Party at work, our elected officials are still working to maintain the status quo and the power structure, and you even have nuts out there raising money for George Zimmerman and protesting for the rights of killer police. What has really changed?

Well, one of the main differences that I noticed is that wherever King was speaking or protesting, there were huge crowds- small children, teens, adults, elders. Thousands of people participated in marches and protests. Now, most organizers I know are fortunate to get 100-200 people at a demonstration; voter turnout is hella low in most communities of color; and I find that most people are critically uninformed about issues that directly affect their own social mobility. The reason why the Civil Rights era was effective wasn’t because of one man’s leadership, it was because the people were ready for change, they were committed, and they were willing to get involved. Not to say there aren’t people doing great work in our communities today, but obviously there’s a disconnect. Why?

Well, you can pretty much break down the history and look at what’s happened since the Civil Rights movement 50 years ago. Most leaders were assassinated or incarcerated, drugs like heroin and later crack were flooded into poor communities, street violence has destroyed the population, black people have been incarcerated at a rate higher than they were enslaved, and once minorities integrated into mainstream society, we started working WITH the system instead of working to change it. This is how you get the idea that racism is a thing of the past, that Obama shows anyone can make it, that we shouldn’t protest, blah blah blah. It doesn’t take much political analysis to see that nowadays things are just the same as ever–if not worse.

One of the most constant things MLK did and said is that we must constantly challenge the way things are in our society. Not to create agitation, but to force us to grow, change, and evolve. If you’re reading this, your job is to be apart of that challenge. You don’t have to lead a protest or march on Washington, simple things in your day-to-day life can make a huge difference. Just be open. Cuz I think even if we had a leader like MLK around today, people would be too busy checking FB, listening to the latest Beyonce song, and drinking Ciroc to hear him.

I’ll end this with one of MLK’s last documented quotes during a conversation with Harry Bellafonte:

“I’ve come upon something that disturbs me deeply. We have fought hard and long for integration, as I believe we should have, and I know that we will win. But I’ve come to believe we’re integrating into a burning house. I’m afraid that America may be losing what moral vision she may have had; and I’m afraid that even as we integrate, we are walking into a place that does not understand that this nation needs to be deeply concerned with the plight of the poor and disenfranchised. Until we commit ourselves to ensuring that the underclass is given justice and opportunity, we will continue to perpetuate the anger and violence that tears at the soul of this nation.”