Observations on MLK: When did you decide he’s a hero?

MLK day wasn’t too long ago, and with that, Black History Month is right around the corner.  It just has me thinking about history.  Today, MLK is considered all kinds of generally “positive” things.  A visionary.  A humanitarian.  A great leader.  A pacifist. An idealist.  A role model.  An upstanding citizen.  You might even say he was a great guy.  We have streets named after him.  Awards named after him.  Schools named after him.  Hospitals named after him.  Libraries named after him.  And that’s just to name a few.  In fact, before he died, he was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.  No small feat.  But I think we’d all agree that King’s legacy today is very different from the legacy that was emerging, real time, in the 60’s.  In his era, America wasn’t interested in building statues to commemorate his efforts.  There was no talk of naming awards after him, and there certainly wasn’t any talk of nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize (the awards are based in Europe, not the US).  He wasn’t considered a role model citizen.  In fact, he was considered a criminal.  A fugitive.  A communist.  A terrorist.  A threat to everything American.

It’s almost ironic that the idea of racial equity was considered a threat to everything American.  It’s fitting though.  In the late 15^th century, Columbus lands on the shores of the US, and shortly thereafter begins a bloody conflict with the Natives (even though they were here first).  And after that, let’s not forget kidnapping black people from the shores of Africa and putting them to work as slaves all over the Americas.  That lasted about 300 years, by the way.  And after that, let’s not forget another 80 years of oppression in the form of Jim Crow and segregation.  And that brings us to the Civil Rights movement, headed by none other than MLK himself.  And this man is a threat to everything American, because in the 1960’s, there’s nothing more unamerican than the idea of racial equity.

This is what gets me though.  For so many white people, MLK is considered the model for civil and respectful protest of race relations in this country.  Understandably so.  But being 50 years removed from the Civil Rights era, I feel many white people can also neglect a subtle fact.  When MLK was protesting in the 60’s, most white people weren’t calling him a hero.  When he was marching in Selma, most white people weren’t calling him a model citizen.  When he was organizing sit ins, America wasn’t applauding him for his non-violent means.  Frankly, that was the last thing America was concerned about.  For the majority of White Americans in the 1960’s, their major interest in MLK was the fact that this black man had the audacity to publicly criticize this country’s racial inequity and describe centuries of oppression at the hands of the white populace.  MLK wanted to erode their privilege and establish equal rights for every American, blacks and otherwise, but I’m sure all they heard was, “less for us and more for them.”  That’s usually how conversations on equity tend to go.

It goes without saying that if MLK is considered the model for protest of racial injustice, then all protests of that kind to follow will always be compared to him, including a guy like Colin Kaepernick or a group like Black Lives Matter.  I’ll touch more on Colin Kaepernick next month in February, but what I’ll say now is this: I acknowledge this is a multifaceted discussion, with a number of different themes; however, I do believe that some white people aren’t being honest about why they take issue with Colin’s protest.  Sure, maybe some white people are really rattled by his “lack of patriotism” or “disrespect for the flag”.  But I’ll be honest, I don’t think that’s everyone’s major stake in this conversation, especially given the history of race relations and protest in America.  The reality is, I think there are many, in opposition to Colin, that don’t have a major issue with how he’s protesting (taking a knee) but what he’s protesting (racial inequity).  But it’s 2018, so you can’t just come out and say that, right? Instead they say, “You should protest more like MLK!”  Yeah, but MLK’s protests, in his era, weren’t really well received, either.  But in the 60’s, it had very little to do with him marching up and down the streets and had everything to do with, “If we give these negroes equal rights, our country will be in chaos.”  MLK’s opposition took issue with WHAT he was protesting, not how he was protesting.  Honestly, they were going to take issue with it either way, because of the statement he was making, not how he was making the statement.  Such is, I think, the issue with Colin, BLM, and other groups… I believe there are many white Americans in opposition that are going to take issue with what you’re protesting, no matter how you protest it.

I can’t help but feel, at least in Colin’s case, that all of this is a bit ironic.  MLK was considered to be a threat to everything American.  And Colin’s protest is also considered to be unamerican.  I guess there are few things more unamerican than the idea of racial equity.  Colin’s in good company though.  Muhammad Ali wouldn’t have been considered very American either.  In fact, he was so unamerican, he refused to enlist in the Vietnam War.  His reasoning?  Why drop bombs and bullets on the Vietnamese when my people are being bombed and attacked right here in the country they call their home, America?  To be fair, Ali’s refusal to enlist represented a crime, so that had to be treated slightly differently, but that’s besides the point.

Because of the complicated story of American history, America has these unique moments where American pride and patriotism is intended to overshadow the wrongs done to many along the way.  In Colin’s case, he couldn’t bring himself to stand for the anthem, because of the racial inequity he felt he observed every day.  Many white Americans don’t understand why he would do something so unamerican.  I like the way the way Steve Kerr, the coach of the Golden State Warriors, put it when he was asked about their decision to decline Trump’s invitation to the White House.  “You know what else is disrespectful to our flag?  Racism.”  He’s right.  Although I’ve said on at least 3 occasions that racial equity is unamerican, it’s also very inconsistent with the values that America prides itself on.  Racism is disrespectful to our flag, our country, and everything America stands for, at least on paper.  But we’d rather get upset about him kneeling than have a conversation about what exactly he’s kneeling about.

Back to MLK.  I can’t help but feel that some white people can have either selective memory or short-term memory that fits the narrative they’d like to tell.  I just feel like as we remember MLK, it’s important to remember that he was NOT considered a hero by his contemporaries.  His protest was NOT well received in his era.  So why should it be any different for Colin, BLM, or anyone else who protest racial inequity in 2018?  Terrorist.  Fugitive.  Criminal.  A threat to everything American.  That’s a more accurate description of MLK, in the midst of his protest.  That’s exciting though, because we look back on that now, and I feel like we all agree that description couldn’t be further from the truth, but at one point, that was in fact the description.  There’s still a lot to unpack here… I’ll have to give it more thought going into February.

***** So, I had a great discussion recently with someone who subscribes to my blog.  We both agreed that I’d be doing a post on MLK a great disservice if I didn’t bring it full circle, so I’m adding this in.  MLK was a minister after all, and that largely influenced his vision for a different America.  So here’s something to think about:

I Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”

Guys, we’re only human. We’re selfish, self centered, arrogant, entitled, inconsiderate, and the list goes on.  Even on our GOOD days, we drop the ball.  I thought I was doing okay with this post, and I had someone share with me it had some very real opportunities for improvement.  Who knew!  Even when we WANT to be humane, and have these dialogues on race, and privilege, and inequity, we’ll make mistakes, say and do the wrong thing, and people will get hurt.  It’s almost a guarantee.  But if we have I Peter 4:8, we’ll alright.  If not, oh God, please help us all, because we have no hope.  Seriously though.  If we’re going to make any progress in this at all, we’re going to need to show a lot of grace and love to each other.  I’ll be writing about race pretty extensively in the spring, so be expecting more soon.

Nnamdi