Martin Luther King Day

By Hanna DeMarte, January 19, 2015

Today, the federal holiday we dedicate to Martin Luther King’s legacy takes on a new meaning in our nation. In the past it has been a day to reflect on the evils that once were and rejoice for having destroyed them. It was a day to quote the famous “I have a dream” speech while remaining blissfully ignorant, or shamefully aware, of the problems our country has failed or doesn’t care to solve.

Today, we know there is blood on our hands. Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, and Antonio Martin are among the most distinguishable names on the list of black lives taken by police officers in cities like Ferguson and New York this past year. We all know about the months of protests that have followed and are continuing now, about how officers responded to those protests, and about the negative portrayal of peaceful black protesters in various news sources and in social media.

Growing up, the history books taught us that racism ended in 1963 when Martin Luther Kind Jr. marched on Washington and delivered his speech. But if I learned anything over the last year, it’s that we never really left the 60s. Racism is thriving in several facets of our society and there is much work to be done.

My civic engagement today included watching the news (CNN) and reading articles published recently about MLK, race in America, the “New Civil Right’s Movement,” other iconic black Americans, and protests that have gone on today. Here are some things I want to share:

1. This article by Tanzina Vega highlights the differences in past and present protests and discusses the struggle today of starting a second movement. According to Vega, historian David J. Garrow does not believe a new movement can take off because clear-cut goals have not been defined. Vega also cites People magazine’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, who expresses concern regarding lack of leadership.

Tanzina Vega also points out how organizers believe they are, in fact, applying Dr. King’s tactics to their protests, which aim to be disruptive like his sit-ins and boycotts.

2. The following quotes were said by Martin Luther King:

“However difficult it is to hear, however shocking it is to hear, we’ve got to face the fact that America is a racist country.” (1968)

“White America has allowed itself to be indifferent to race prejudice.” (1968)

“I am sorry to have to say that the vast majority of white Americans are racists, either consciously or unconsciously.” (1967)

I share these words because they are relevant but overlooked. Quotes like these have been shared on various social media outlets today by individuals who believe MLK’s true legacy has been erased and whitewashed. The twitter hashtags #ReclaimMLK and #MLKalsosaid reveal the effort to keep his legacy alive and remember him, his accomplishments, and his ideals in the protests occurring today.

3. These images, shared in a Washington Post article by Krissah Thompson, reveal the unsettling distinction between the amount of black and white people who attended Dr. King’s funeral.

This work was done by artist Alfredo Jaar in 1995 to express his outrage at lack of white attendees. The black dots represent black people and the red represent white people. It illustrates the fact that whites were preoccupied with what his death meant rather than the death itself, as explained by David Garrow.

To quote Jaar more recently, “It is unbelievable that we are still at that level. We have to say ‘black lives matter.’ What does it mean that we have to say that? This country continues to amaze me.”

4. I discovered today through social media that in 1999, the United States Government (local, state, and federal) was found guilty of being “deeply involved” in the assassination Martin Luther King, Jr., in a unanimous court decision. It’s shocking to me the amount of U.S. history courses you can take, and continue to be fed misinformation from childhood into early adulthood. James Earl Ray was named the shooter of Dr. King by every history teacher I had in grade school, but he was only the man that was initially blamed before the unnamed gunman was later identified.

The result of the case is detailed here by Coretta Scott King.

“We have done what we can to reveal the truth, and we now urge you as members of the media, and we call upon elected officials, and other persons of influence to do what they can to share the revelation of this case to the widest possible audience.”— Coretta Scott King, 1999

And didn’t we do a great job at that?

5. Finally, I want to share one last article that details the accomplishments of a few other black icons in American history, including Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Malcolm X, James Baldwin, and others. The purpose is to recognize other influential people who aren’t often discussed, and to show that a movement requires more than one leader.

Happy MLK Day!