A Biblical Look at The Service, Sacrifice and Faithfulness of MLK jr.

Photo: Chicago Tribune

Since 2007, I have given close to 20 talks about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Many of these talks have been in churches, but some have taken place in "secular" venues: libraries, a courthouse and an office building. 

I always approach a talk about Dr. King the same no matter where I may be speaking (or who I'm speaking to). It's not necessary for the audience to believe in the Christian God (or any God) to understand how Dr. King's religious convictions inspired his actions. With that said, I never proselytize, but I do ground his speeches and the actions he took in the Bible. Dr. King's service, sacrifice and faithfulness can all be traced back to the scriptures that shaped his life. 

Service

In Galatians 5:1 Paul writes, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Dr. King often made reference to Paul's letter. Later in verses 13 and 14 Paul writes, "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself." 

Galatians 5:1-15 were often referred to as the "Christian Freedom papers" by many Black denominations going all the way back to the early days of the abolitionist movement. The same Bible that was (mis)used to justify the enslavement and brutal treatment of Africans in America was also a source of inspiration for Dr. King and countless others. 

Sacrifice

It's impossible to serve anyone or anything without sacrifice. Dr. King had a one way ticket to a professional life in the north. Sure he would still be living under a lesser form of Jim Crow, but he could have built a lovely home, pastored a church and raised his children in relative obscurity. He could have done all of those things and been a success in the eyes of his friends and family. In the second chapter of Philippians Paul writes about some of the sacrifices that are necessary to be a humble servant. Philippians 2:1-8 reads as follows:

Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Dr. King's ministry and the life task he believed he was called to fulfill prevented him from running away to the north. Martin didn't want to be a martyr, but he believed disobeying God would be worse. this leads me to his faith.

Faithfulness

In Revelations 2:10 John writes, "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested... Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life." 

Dick Gregory once joked that it would be hard for Dr. King to get into heaven. He said he asked Martin how he planned on explaining all of the time he spent in jails. Jailings, assaults, death threats and government counter intelligence tactics were all things that challenged Martin's faith. Through it all he held to his convictions. 

Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech ended up being his sermon on the mount. As aspirational and inspirational as that speech was it was also a testament to faith. King was acutely aware of the sacrifices many of the participants of the March on Washington made. He knew all to well the scars he carried with him to the lectern. His faith  made his service and sacrifice possible. We don't have to believe what Martin believed to respect the way his beliefs guided his steps.

America Needs More Steve Kerr!

"I'm proud to be in a league that understands patriotism in America is about free speech. It's about peacefully protesting...They're weren't disrespecting the flag or the military, but our president decided to make it about that and the NFL followed suit and pandered to their fan base by creating this hysteria."

Steve Kerr showed some of "allies" how easy it is to tell the truth.

"Allies" love sharing their obligatory MLK quotes and pictures, but very few have ever wrestled with his words. Dr. King's message was the antithesis of  peacefully suffering injustice. Anyone who believes he would side with Donald Trump and the NFL over the people he was murdered advocating for needs to turn of Fox News and pick up a book.

Here are some Dr. King quotes to get you started:

1. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

2. In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. 

3. There comes a time when silence is betrayal.

4. There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right.

If you can't tell the truth about peaceful protests and the Black bodies that caused them, keep Dr. King's name out of your mouth. Your silence allows the status quo to continue. We have a legal system that kills more unarmed people of color than armed school shooters. Let me say that again: white mass shooters are treated better than unarmed people of color. In 25 years your grandkids will be ashamed.

If we hadn't put a moratorium on inviting folks to the cookout Steve Kerr would have already received a lifetime achievement award.

50 Years Later We Still Miss King's Point

If you haven't noticed, there are a ton of articles, blogs, and videos about the 50-year anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination. A lot of people have worked really hard writing, editing, and producing content commemorating his life and legacy. If you get a chance you should engage as many of these works as possible. Critically and carefully examine the ideas expressed. After each piece, ask yourself: 1) What kind of person would produce this? 2) What kind of response are they trying to elicit? 3) What kind of work, if any, are they doing to support the causes important to Dr. King? 4) If someone doesn’t have a record of activism, why did they take time to participate in this conversation? Judge these works based on their merit, but also the actions of the author or producer who published them.

America celebrates Dr. King three times a year: his federal holiday on the third Monday in January, during Black History Month, and every April 4^th. Sadly, these celebrations have displaced the reality of his life. Dr. King died a hated man. The overwhelming majority of white Americans had a poor view of him at the time of his death. His support inside the Black community was just above 50%. In the last years of his life Dr. King found himself on the outside of political and social circles he once was welcomed in.

Fifty years after his assassination, America has convinced three generations that he was the prototype for a social activist. His posthumous elevation from radical agent for social change to mythic figure is as American as apple pie. He went from hated to loved without a period of public reflection. The worst part about America’s love affair with Dr. King is the hypocrisy. Every time an activist engages in civil disobedience they are punished. America has never accepted criticism from marginalized communities.

No one in American history has had their legacy more purposefully distorted than Dr. King. Reactionaries and progressives alike use him to endorse a kind of respectability politics that lengthens the arc the moral universe has to travel before it gets to justice. Dr. King has been refashioned into a pacifist. His positions on physical violence overshadow the economic violence caused by the boycotts he championed. Because he possessed the ability to make people confront their own prejudices and shortcomings without attacking their character, he is viewed differently than some of his contemporaries who did the same thing with harsher language.  This isn’t the same as being conciliatory to white feelings.

America will never truly understand King’s dream until we are honest about the legacy of racism in America. We can celebrate the progress he helped usher in, but those celebrations do nothing to confront the ways race continues to affect people of color. Refusing to acknowledge race isn't a cure for racism.

Dr. King isn’t white America’s trophy civil rights activist and he’s not Black America’s principal. His legacy should be protected from all enemies both foreign and domestic. White people should check themselves before attempting to use him to quell social activism they are uncomfortable with and Black people with ulterior motives should check themselves before spreading fairy tales that defang his project of social change.

Here are a few things I think we should be mindful of as we reflect on this day.

1. Be cautious around people who celebrate Dr. king while opposing every issue he advocated for. You can’t love Dr. King while hating someone like Colin Kaepernick and retain moral consistency. One of these men lead a protest that was much more violent than the other.

2. Don’t sit idly by while people try to reappropriate King’s Dream. It’s impossible to remain silent about police brutality, mass incarceration, and the ways race still affects people of color and be a torch-bearer. Don't let people who have chastised protests movements over the same issues King was murdered for supporting convince you that he is their guy. Anyone who has publicly condemned protests over police brutality wouldn't have supported Dr. King.

3. No one owns his legacy. I am very protective of Dr. King’s words, but the fact is he was heavily influenced by the religious and secular figures he read and came in contact with. His ability to weave secular and religious texts into a road map to a more equal future is something to be studied and shared. None of us own this legacy, but we should respect it.

Who's Really Woke?

Every few weeks I get invited to join a pro black Facebook group. These groups tend to be populated with passionate brothers and sisters who use the larger platform to share their perspectives on the continued effects of colonialism, structural racism, and patriarchy on the black community. The best groups I’ve seen have been saturated with positive messages that hinge on unity, economic empowerment, and black pride. At their best, these groups are a source of daily affirmations for people in the struggle. One negative many of these groups have in common is their almost universal disdain for the black church. There are large blocks of the “new” conscious community who don’t view Christians as allies in the fight for social justice. Divisions inside Christian, Islamic, Afrocentric, and secular black movements aren’t new; there’s never been a time when these groups posited the same solutions to our shared problems, but the complete disregard for the Civil Rights accomplishments made by the black church is disrespectful. The conscious community prides itself on being woke, but in the words of Lil Duval, “Some of y’all need a nap.”

I always advise young Christian activists to accept the fact that they share struggles with people who view their religion as truncated at best, or a fundamental part of the black community’s underlying problems at worst. When Christians are confronted by nonbelievers skeptical of our commitment to fighting systemic racism we have to listen to their critiques and take them seriously. This doesn’t mean you spend all of your time and energy defending the church or explaining your personal journey of faith, but you should engage your allies’ conceptions and likely misconceptions about both. How you answer the inevitable “slave master’s religion question” and how you talk about “Prosperity Gospel” can be the difference between deconstructing the image of the church versus involuntarily taking part in its destruction.

The church has always been judged by the actions of its most visible representatives. When television cameras where pointed at the likes of Dr. King, Reverend Ralph Abernathy, and Reverend Wyatt T. Walker the perception of the church was different. These men weren’t perfect and their accomplishments didn’t negate the transgressions committed by the church during the height of their ministries, but their witness helped shape the way a generation of people viewed the church. Social media has enabled those trying to destroy the black church to reduce it to easily shareable memes about Creflo Dollar, the deceased Bishop Eddie Long, and the black pastors who supported Donald Trump. It doesn’t matter how “woke” or active Christians with small platforms are their efforts are invisible to those who view the church through the lens of social media. The silence from mega church pastors about issues important to the black community plays into the myth of a dead church. The fact that one has to do a Google search to find a statement, tweet, or sermon from some of the biggest names in Prosperity Gospel about police brutality or the resurgence of white nationalism is telling. The black church, like the black community, is indicted as a whole for the actions of the minority.

Many of the same people fighting against police racial profiling of black people don’t see the hypocrisy associated with their religious profiling of black people. The anti-Christian sentiment inside the conscious community is more complicated than social media posts and public positions taken by prominent church figures. The black community isn’t monolithic. We share similar struggles, but we don’t share similar thought processes and beliefs. Too often we seek validation in ourselves, and our beliefs, through in-group out-group distinctions that elevate one segment of our community above another. Too many Christians are judgmental and condemning of people who don’t share their beliefs, and too many in the conscious community are condescending and intolerant towards Christians. Instead of us unifying behind the commonality of our struggles we created an artificial hierarchy that doesn’t have any impact on the societal structures we’re fighting. Institutional racism doesn’t care who’s woke and who isn’t. The criminal justice system doesn’t care if you’re a Christian or an atheist. We’re in this together and we need to act like it. As an ordained member of the clergy I admit that there are churches in need of some serious reform, but isn’t it easier to clean a house than build one? The conscious community talks about building institutions and strengthening our communities, but wouldn’t this be easier with a healthy church in place?

We are the freest generation of African-Americans to live in this country, and much of that freedom was paid for by men and women who believed in Jesus. I’ve studied theology and philosophy for over a decade. I understand some of the Ontological arguments for and against the existence of a higher being better than most of the people making them, but I’ve yet to hear a compelling argument for why it’s necessary to diminish the religious beliefs of Christians. Many of the same people who were introduced to Nat Turner through Birth of a Nation are hell bent on destroying the institution that woke him up. I shudder when I think about how many people in the conscious community who didn’t know the name Denmark Vesey before Dylan Roof murdered nine innocent Christians in his church. The theologian Howard Thurman said, “By some amazing but vastly creative spiritual insight the slave undertook the redemption of a religion that the master had profaned in his midst.” Thurman was deeply affected by the dehumanizing evil of racism and was acutely aware of how much damage the institution of slavery did to Christianity, yet he was able to connect to the emancipatory message abolitionists pastors and believers found in the teachings of Jesus. Revolutionary Christians have always rejected the notion that slavery was ordained by God.  Believers in the 21st century should attempt to redeem Christianity from the profane uses of the gospel in our time. The legacy of the black church is worth protecting from attacks both foreign and domestic.

Segregated Faith: America's First Sunday

“I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says, "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically feels that he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time; and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”

MLK

Today was America’s first full day of church services since candidate Trump became president-elect Trump. The outcome of the election has been received quite differently depending on the racial makeup of a church’s congregation. The data shows 80% of self-described White Evangelicals voted for Donald Trump while Black support for Trump was between 8-10%. The old aphorism about 11:00am Sunday morning being America’s most segregated hour was evident in the way Christians voted.

As I walked towards the lectern in the pulpit this morning I knew the words I chose wouldn’t and couldn’t do an adequate job of placing this moment in a proper biblical or historical context. This election magnified the racial divide in America’s churches. The truth is: many churches haven’t made any substantial progress in desegregating that segmented hour of our week dedicated to worship. As I prepared and meditated on my remarks, I was (once again) forced to face the reality that due to our aging congregation and the racial demographics of our area the only way our church can survive is to bring more of our white brothers and sisters into our fellowship. We are one of the two historically black churches left in our county. I often find myself wondering how can we grow our church in a Republican enclave surrounded by Christians who don’t understand why Donald Trump is anathema to a majority of our members?

Since Tuesday, I’ve read social media posts and watched videos by White pastors who have likened the election of Donald Trump to an Old Testament prophecy coming to fruition. As an ordained member of clergy and a student of human history I find myself questioning what matters most to some of my fellow Christians: nationalism or their membership in the kingdom? I don’t know how so many pastors were able to overlook the obvious racial undertones, xenophobia, misogyny, and overall vindictive rhetoric Donald Trump uses. I can’t understand how the Christian right was able to so easily embrace a candidate who embodied so many of the actions they’ve spent decades worth of lip service fighting.

I’ve been assured by close to a dozen of my fellow Christians that their support for Donald Trump wasn’t based on any racial, religious, or national calculus. They assured me they want “real change”. I’ve been told that Donald Trump won’t govern the way he talked on the campaign trail. I was told that we need to give him a chance. I was told that Donald Trump isn’t a racist, “he just puts Americans first”. I was told all of this by people who assured me they aren’t racist. I had someone tell me how bad they feel that so many racist organizations have aligned themselves with their movement. I’ve come to the conclusion that none of their reasons really matter to me. I don’t have the time or energy to analyze each and every motivation people used to make their decision. It almost feels like some of them are looking for absolution. I know all Trump supporters aren’t racist, but that won’t help me if, and when, I’m subjected to state sanctioned discrimination.

It’s deeply upsetting listening to pastors provide religious cover to a man who hasn't shown the ability to engage in civil discourse with anyone he disagrees with. Donald Trump speaks worse about his political opponents than Dr. King spoke about the people who were trying to kill him. Let that sink in! The Religious right have turned ecumenical back flips finding ways to forgive Donald Trump for behavior they would have crucified President Obama for. I can’t help but question what makes family value conservatives embrace a man with 5 children by 3 women, or his womanizing ways. Legendary conservative womanizers like Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani think the Donald has had a good run.

In the 18^th and 19^th centuries the enlightenment caused the disenchantment with the church. In the 20^th and 21^st century it’s been our hypocrisy. What it means to be a Christian and who decides is a trap civilizations and cultures have fallen into since the church was founded. The church has survived crusades, inquisitions, reformations, and countless other existential crises; as an institution, it will always be here. I don’t question whether the church will live, I wonder how many people will want to be affiliated with it after we’re done?

I started this post with Dr. King because he has simultaneously been the best tool America has produced for the destruction of systematic racism and for shaming civil unrest. There’s much to learn from his sermonizing and writing. He possessed the ability to weave secular and religious texts from the past into road maps for an egalitarian future. No figure in American history has had their legacy more distorted to the detriment of the people he died advocating for than Dr. King. He has been reduced to the role of Black America’s principal or daddy. The moment there’s racial unrest America would rather dismiss than engage Black people are bombarded with images of MLK and told how we should or shouldn’t conduct ourselves. Almost fifty years after his assassination America has convinced herself and three generations of her children that she loved him when he was alive.

The protesters in our streets have very real issues they’re concerned about, yet the inexcusable actions of some knuckleheads have overshadowed their pleas for help. The electoral process has yielded a President-elect who’s caused some in our country to question how safe they are moving forward. Many of Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters don’t have to worry about the kind of collateral damage that can come from draconian immigration policies or a national stop-and-frisk campaign. When members of the LGBTQIA community talk about losing civil liberties based on the religious beliefs of others they are dismissed as drama queens (double entendre intended). The left and the right are equally guilty of dismissing the concerns of the other side. When we ignore or diminish the pain others are experiencing we don’t make their pain go away; we only show them how little we care about it. Now would be a great time for some understanding and resolve. Maybe we can talk about how we got here without yelling at each other?

Progressivism And Its Discontents

“The time comes when each of us has to give up as illusions the expectations which, in his youth, he pinned upon his fellow-men, and when he may learn how much difficulty and pain has been added to his life by their ill-will.”
― Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents

The ideological rifts inside the Democratic Party are widening. Some of this animosity can be attributed to the fact that progressives are required to fight multiple battles simultaneously. One unintended consequence of fighting so many battles at once is our sometimes collective inability to appreciate how important each battle is to the overall movement. We (at times) ignore or diminish causes others are passionate about because their fights might not impact our daily lives. This creates artificial hierarchies between allies, breeds animosity, and leads to distrust. Progressives with racial, ethnic, and LGBTQA specific interests tend to focus more on fighting battles in the culture wars specific to their identity. This doesn't mean fighting "big" oil, "big" coal, "big" agrochemical, and slew of "big" corporate polluters isn't important, but daily existential threats take priority over fights that could take a generation to yield tangible negative results. This doesn't mean people of color get a pass on environmental duties. Racial minorities are disproportionately affected by carbon based polluters. Flint, Michigan is the big story, but there are almost a dozen schools in Newark, New Jersey facing a similar water crisis. These fights take place while all of us share the burden of fighting for higher wages, single payer healthcare, and to break corporate America's grip on the Federal Government. No matter how hot our progressive fires burn none of us are capable of efficiently fighting on every front. Every issue we fight for is important, yet we lose sight of this. Progressivism has to include everyone for it to be more than an empty political trope.

I struggle to get some of my progressive friends to understand that sometimes defending the gains we've made can be more important than trying to advance the next cause. It's hard to accept the fact that our role in the movement might be to provide a steady foundation for others to build on. The Black progressive experience in America is rooted in the understanding that: I may not get there with you, but I'll give my life to better yours. Who really believes Black and White Abolitionist like William Lloyd Garrison, Fredrick Douglas, John Brown, or Harriet Tubman wouldn't have chosen an easier way if there was one? Progress is hard! Trying to overcome overt biases is hard; it's even harder to overcome the underlying, often unconscious ideological biases at the core of many bad social and economic policy decisions.

I've been ruthless in my critique of many of the younger progressives I've met in the last few years- sometimes too hard. In the 90's I believed we were going to be the generation that ended police brutality, got companies and universities to divest from South Africa, and end the Israeli occupation in Palestine. I, like many of my friends, hit the ground running. We were full of energy, ambition, and "expertise". I talked way more than I listened, I was condescending towards some of the people who helped force integration in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, and I thought "REVOLUTIONS" were sprints instead of marathons. Terry Prachett has a quote I love, "Don't put your trust in revolutions. They always come around again. That's why they're called revolutions. People die, and nothing changes." I don't hold the cynical view that nothing changes, but I have to admit that some things have remained the same. On March 3, 1991 Rodney King was beaten within an inch of his life following a high speed chase. 25 years later Black men are still dying in the streets at the hands of law enforcement. We use hashtags to commemorate today's victims of police brutality, but we haven't eradicated the problem. 

The Rodney King beating, the acquittal of the officers, and the subsequent riots woke me up. All of us have an issue or event that changed our lives, if you don't have one- then maybe you're not the revolutionary you thought you were. It's hard moving from one defeat to another along the slow path towards progress. This can kill you! The stress associated with trying to force a country to adhere to its promises has put many good men and women in early graves. This is more than a cool bumper sticker on a hybrid, or a secular savior complex one might have with a leader they identify with. Harriet Tubman said the only regret she had was that she didn't die in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia with John Brown. She looked back on her life and wished she had participated in a raid that lead to the death of everyone involved. When Medgar Evers was murdered Martin and Malcolm kept fighting. When John Kennedy was killed Robert kept serving. Progressivism isn't a one time event where you show up get the tee shirt and reflect on the good time you had. If you choose this life you'll learn to accept defeat or be defeated by it. If you have access to someone you trust over 60 ask them how it felt when the Kennedy's were assassinated, ask them how they felt when they heard Dr. King was murdered. It seems like progressives get weaker the closer we get to realizing our goals. 50 years ago progressives found ways to compartmentalize the deaths of their peers and colleagues to fight on; today, we threaten to boycott elections if our candidate doesn't win. We lack a toughness that we may never get back.

In the last five years Arizona implemented a photo I.D. law that legalized racial profiling before it got struck down by the Supreme Court; Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act  was declared unconstitutional; and Indiana, North Carolina, and Georgia all crafted legislation with the intent to disenfranchise Gays and Lesbians. These are the issues that don't affect progressives who were born with an "advantageous societal predisposition". If you choose to sit out of an election that could further erode the gains fought for before many of your parents were born then you were never an ally. Peel your Bernie bumper sticker off your Ron Paul one and trade them both in for a Make America Great hat. If you can't see that either Democrat is far better on social issues than any of the Republicans you're either apathetic too the plight of the rest of us in the big tent or you haven't matured enough to know what it means to be a revolutionary, either way I'd rather be in a foxhole with someone I can trust.

An Open Letter To Angry Trump Supporters

Dear Angry Trump Supporter: I get it. For the better part of forty years I've felt an anxiety similar to what you're experiencing now. Our anger isn't that different; it's connected to our shared inability to alter our day-to-day realities in any significant way. We share an uncomfortable truth: we're stuck reacting to the ebbs and flows of society because we're powerless to control them. You've seen sections of this country abandoned by the powers that be. Some of you have been suffering economic hardships in silence for decades. Pressing 1 for English is just a symptom of the cultural shift you've been forced to endure. Every other group in society champions their heroes: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Caesar Chavez, Grace Boggs, Betty Friedan, Harvey Milk, and Louis Farrakhan, yet it's not "politically correct" for you to show pride in your race or heritage. America has changed, and it's not benefiting you. You're called a racist for articulating your fears, you get blamed for historical atrocities you didn't commit, and you're accused of having "white privilege" even though you don't know how it works or seem to be benefiting from it. Up is down, left is right, and things are changing faster than you can adjust to them. I hate that you're in pain. I disagree with the way your anger is being manipulated for political gain, and I wish I could convince you that we (Blacks, Mexicans, Muslims, LGBQT) aren't your enemy, but it's probably too late for that. 

I've read dozens of articles chronicling the Trump "phenomenon". Some were garden variety in-group out-group armchair psychology that settled for calling you racists and idiots (some of you are), but those articles didn't interest me as much as the articles that sought to connect your populism to the deeper societal issues and economic realities you've been facing. The underlying cause[s] of Donald Trump's political ascension will be studied and debated for a long time across multiple disciplines. If your guy wins the Republican nomination his campaign will have changed the way future Republican candidates run their campaigns. In essences, your movement will have strong armed the Republican nomination process. This is good and bad. Giving your guy the nomination won't help you in the general election if you continue alienating the rest of us. 2016 could be the year we find out if you need any of us to win in a general election. Your party has only won the popular vote one time (2004) since 1988. My hunch is that a strategy of offending every minority group in the country could backfire, but I've been wrong before. 

The America Country music stars sing about is over. This country will never exist as it did in those television shows from the 50's and 60's. We aren't going away. Alexis de Tocqueville  understood all of this. He noticed how militant his fellow Frenchmen became as their standards of living improved during the French Revolution. One of the worst things you can do to a person who denies the effects of historical injustices is open the space for historically oppressed people to get access to freedom and economic opportunity. People don't freely go back to a status quo that puts the needs of their particular communities on the back burner for the sake of the majorities feelings. You're not responsible for the world you inherited: neither are we. The coalitions you see forming harbor some of the same mistrust between them as you might harbor towards all of us, but none of us are willing to go back to this place you seem willing to take us. When I hear "take America back" or "make America great again" I hear desperation. Those words are empty signifiers. If taking America back means it will once again be socially acceptable for a bigot to spit on my mother then: I'll fight you, not a metaphorical fight with words and ideas, but a real life out in the streets fight. If taking America back means my gay friends have to go back to their closets: then I know they'll fight you, and I'll help them. If making America great again means my brother's wife and his in-laws could be rounded up because being 4th and 5th generation Mexican-Americans isn't good enough for you: then I'll fight you. If I see a group of people harming my Muslim brothers and sisters: I think you get the point.

Here's a secret: all of us are feeling the pinch of global capitalism. You woke up in a nightmare that transcends race and class. Instead of blaming us for the greed that sent the manufacturing base of our economy to the developing world, and created the unsustainable boom or bust cycles we see in the market, why not ask us how we've endured the trauma you're feeling. I love you and hope you let your anger go. Don't let hate radio, Fox News, and right-wing demagogues strip you of your humanity. The sooner you understand the underlying cause[s] of your anger the sooner you can move on. The market economy is a lot like the in-group out-group distinctions some of the Americans you see as enemies face daily: they exist in invisible spheres that are hard to explain to people who aren't on the underside of them, yet you feel their effects. You could learn a lot from us; we understand what's happening to you better than you do. 

Have a Blessed Day!

Danny Cardwell

"I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone... they will be forced to deal with pain." — James A. Baldwin

DR. Michael Eric Dyson at Washington and Lee University

http://livestream.com/wlu/mlk-michael-eric-dyson/videos/109733102?t=1453088870172

Ferguson, The University of Missouri, and Dr. King

The government uses counterintelligence agents to disrupt peaceful protesters while the media uses Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to dissuade future uprisings.

Taking Back Their Country: I Don't Want to Go

The free press and the right of the people to dissent without fear of criminal prosecution is a constitutive part of our continuing attempt to perfect our union. I look forward to reading the comments section on blogs and the editorials in my local newspaper. The passion that some of our fellow citizens write with is palpable. We share space with some interesting people.

Over the last few years I've noticed a recurring theme among several of the comments and editorials of different publications: the quest to, "take back our country". This America that my fellow citizens long for seems like a fascinating place. When I close my eyes I picture Mayberry. The only problem with that is Aunt Bee and Opie were fictional characters. From 1960-68 (the years the Andy Griffith Show ran). Medgar Evers, John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated (in that order), the Vietnam war had started under false pretenses (we admitted the Gulf of Tonkin incident didn't happen) and the National Guard had to be sent to the south numerous times to enforce the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Topeka, Kansas decision (ending segregation in public schools). In 1961 there were over 60 churches burnt to the ground by American terrorists.

I'm leary of a trip much further back than that. We live in a country that has overcome great obstacles, but we were never a perfect union. If we push that fairytale out of our mind, and look at how far we've come I think we can appreciate the journey even more.

Mayberry seems like a great place to live, but the reality is: just as The Andy Griffith Show was taping their first episodes students were risking their lives in organized sit-ins less than 100 miles away. Often times the further we get from something the better it looks, but historical context and empirical data have a way of removing the thick clouds we can find ourselves viewing the past through. I long for the day that the promises of citizenship apply to everyone, until then I'll think long thoughts and write letters.

The Courage to Dream: Why We Should Never Forget April 4th

J. Edgar Hoover called Dr. King a "notorious liar"; he also labeled him the most dangerous man in America. In his official C.I.A. file Dr. King's code name was Zorro. Every April 4th we observe the life and death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but the reality is that he died a hated man. Dr. King and the other civil rights leaders of his day lived with constant death threats and alienation from many of their own people. The revisionist history associated with the civil rights leaders of the 60's is typical of the way we (as a nation) deal with uncomfortable subjects.

After Martin's death James Baldwin left the United States. He said he couldn't take it anymore; Medgar, Malcolm, and Martin were his friends. He felt that he was the last one left. Almost 50 years after his death we have political parties fighting over who is the rightful heir to the King legacy; when in reality, he had sharp criticisms for both parties. His stance on the Vietnam war was seen as treasonous. Now, in our hyper patriotic culture the pastors and spiritual leaders actively support the war efforts as they play golf with the president. We've fallen a long way. Dr. King use to say, "I'm a cross bearer before I'm a flag waver." He felt every flag was subordinate to the cross.

I salute Dr. King for his courage and humility. Dr. King, like Gandhi and Oscar Romero, was a prophetic voice who paid the ultimate price for standing up against the mendacity and evil of the system they lived under. I too have a dream; one day, I will awaken and our spiritual leaders will embrace their inner Moses and push back against Pharaoh. One day our preachers will be more like Jeremiah and less like Peter.

I'll close with my favorite passage from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I have not said to my people: "Get rid of your discontent." Rather, I have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled into the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action. And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.