Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2023

Today we set aside to recognize the contributions of a man to the cause of equality.  A recognition of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his contributions to non-violent protest, equality, and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

An ordained Baptist minister, you can see the inspiration he drew from the commands to love the Lord your God above all, to love your neighbor as yourself, and to love your enemies.  His call for non-violence from Jesus' instruction to turn the other cheek.

He serves as a reminder to us that we are all derived from one creator; that there is "neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."  We could add to that list that there is neither black nor white.  

And he reminds us that our founding documents declare that "all men are created equal" and it is our job to hold our country to that truth.  

"All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so just as I say, we aren't going to let dogs or water hoses turn us around, we aren't going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on."

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"There can be no gain saying of the fact that our nation has brought the world to an awe inspiring threshold of the future. We've built machines that think and instruments that peer into the unfathomable ranges of interstellar space. We have built gargantuan bridges to span the seas and gigantic buildings to kiss the skies. And through our spaceships we have penetrated oceanic depths and through our airplanes we have dwarfed distance and placed time in chains. This really is a dazzling picture of America's scientific and technological progress. But in spite of this something basic is missing. In spite of all of our scientific and technological progress we suffer from a kind of poverty of the spirit that stands in glaring contrast to all of our material abundance. This is the dilemma facing our nation and this is the dilemma to which we as clergymen and laymen must address ourselves. Henry David Thoreau said once something that still applies. In a very interesting dictum he talked about improved means to an unimproved end. This is a tragedy that somewhere along the way as a nation we have allowed the mean by which we live to outdistance the ends for which we live. And consequently we suffer from a spiritual and moral lag that must be redeemed if we are going to survive and maintain a moral stance.

[...]

And the words of Jesus are still applicable. What does it profit a generation, what does it profit a nation to own the whole world of means televisions, electric lights and automobiles and lose in the end the soul. The words of Jesus are still true in another sense. Man can not live by the bread of colored televisions alone but by every word, the word of justice, the word of love, the word of truth, every word that procedeth out of the mouth of God. And the problem is that all too many people in power are trying to get America to live on the wrong thing. And this is why we are moving in the wrong direction. This war is playing havoc with our domestic destinies for all of these reasons. We are fighting two wars today.

[...]

And so I say we need your support and we expect it as we move on into this area and I want to thank you for the support that so many of you have continually given. As we were marching today, some 5,000 strong, I thought about Selma because I could look around and see so many who have marched with us in Selma, and from Selma to Montgomery. And we are still marching and we are still moving. And I give you my commitment today that I plan to continue. Someone said to me not long ago, it was a member of the press, 'Dr. King, since you face so many criticisms and since you are going to hurt the budget of your organization, don't you feel that you should kind of change and fall in line with the Administration's policy. Aren't you hurting the civil rights movement and people who once respected you may lose respect for you because you're involved in this controversial issue in taking the stand against the war.' And I had to look with a deep understanding of why he raised the question and with no bitterness in my heart and say to that man, "I'm sorry sir, but you don't know me. I'm not a consensus leader.  I don't determine what is right and wrong by looking at the budget of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference or by taking....  Nor do I determine what is right and wrong by taking a Gallup poll of the majority opinion."  Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher of consensus but a molder of consensus.  On some positions cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right."

Martin Luther King, Jr., A Proper Sense of Priorities, February 6, 1968

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

What good does it do us, what does it profit us today to remember the man, to post quotes from his life, if we are not actively working towards change?  Are we honoring his legacy if we pretend his struggle existed only in the past?

Since 1994, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has been recognized as a day for service.  The only federal holiday to be a day on, not a day off, reflecting our responsibility to each other.  This Martin Luther King, Jr. day, may we be active supporters in the cause of justice, of mercy.  May we be taking positions because our conscience tells us that it is right.  May we truly be in service to all.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2021

Today we set aside to recognize the contributions of a man to the cause of equality.  A recognition of the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his contributions to non-violent protest, equality, and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

An ordained Baptist minister, you can see the inspiration he drew from the commands to love the Lord your God above all, to love your neighbor as yourself, and to love your enemies.  His call for non-violence from Jesus' instruction to turn the other cheek.

He serves as a reminder to us that we are all derived from one creator; that there is "neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."  We could add to that list that there is neither black nor white.  

And he reminds us that our founding documents declare that "all men are created equal" and it is our job to hold our country to that truth.  

"All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand some of these illegal injunctions. Maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right. And so just as I say, we aren't going to let dogs or water hoses turn us around, we aren't going to let any injunction turn us around. We are going on."

------------------------------

"There can be no gain saying of the fact that our nation has brought the world to an awe inspiring threshold of the future. We've built machines that think and instruments that peer into the unfathomable ranges of interstellar space. We have built gargantuan bridges to span the seas and gigantic buildings to kiss the skies. And through our spaceships we have penetrated oceanic depths and through our airplanes we have dwarfed distance and placed time in chains. This really is a dazzling picture of America's scientific and technological progress. But in spite of this something basic is missing. In spite of all of our scientific and technological progress we suffer from a kind of poverty of the spirit that stands in glaring contrast to all of our material abundance. This is the dilemma facing our nation and this is the dilemma to which we as clergymen and laymen must address ourselves. Henry David Thoreau said once something that still applies. In a very interesting dictum he talked about improved means to an unimproved end. This is a tragedy that somewhere along the way as a nation we have allowed the mean by which we live to outdistance the ends for which we live. And consequently we suffer from a spiritual and moral lag that must be redeemed if we are going to survive and maintain a moral stance.

[...]

And the words of Jesus are still applicable. What does it profit a generation, what does it profit a nation to own the whole world of means televisions, electric lights and automobiles and lose in the end the soul. The words of Jesus are still true in another sense. Man can not live by the bread of colored televisions alone but by every word, the word of justice, the word of love, the word of truth, every word that procedeth out of the mouth of God. And the problem is that all too many people in power are trying to get America to live on the wrong thing. And this is why we are moving in the wrong direction. This war is playing havoc with our domestic destinies for all of these reasons. We are fighting two wars today.

[...]

And so I say we need your support and we expect it as we move on into this area and I want to thank you for the support that so many of you have continually given. As we were marching today, some 5,000 strong, I thought about Selma because I could look around and see so many who have marched with us in Selma, and from Selma to Montgomery. And we are still marching and we are still moving. And I give you my commitment today that I plan to continue. Someone said to me not long ago, it was a member of the press, 'Dr. King, since you face so many criticisms and since you are going to hurt the budget of your organization, don't you feel that you should kind of change and fall in line with the Administration's policy. Aren't you hurting the civil rights movement and people who once respected you may lose respect for you because you're involved in this controversial issue in taking the stand against the war.' And I had to look with a deep understanding of why he raised the question and with no bitterness in my heart and say to that man, "I'm sorry sir, but you don't know me. I'm not a consensus leader.  I don't determine what is right and wrong by looking at the budget of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference or by taking....  Nor do I determine what is right and wrong by taking a Gallup poll of the majority opinion."  Ultimately a genuine leader is not a searcher of consensus but a molder of consensus.  On some positions cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right."

Martin Luther King, Jr., A Proper Sense of Priorities, February 6, 1968

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

What good does it do us, what does it profit us today to remember the man, to post quotes from his life, if we are not actively working towards change?  Are we honoring his legacy if we pretend his struggle existed only in the past?

Since 1994, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has been recognized as a day for service.  The only federal holiday to be a day on, not a day off, reflecting our responsibility to each other.  This Martin Luther King, Jr. day, may we be active supporters in the cause of justice, of mercy.  May we be taking positions because our conscience tells us that it is right.  May we truly be in service to all.

Indy 500

Today is the Indianapolis 500.  Not something I normally would have kept up with, but living here, it's hard to ignore.  There are yards that have been decorated all month for the celebration.  And references everywhere.  I understand that it normally would have been an even bigger affair, but still muted a little by the pandemic.  They are allowing the stands to be at 40% capacity for fans to observe, but that will still be 135,000 people.  That makes it the largest sporting event yet of the pandemic.

There have been other modifications this year.  The infield "Snake Pit" will be empty and the pre-race concerts will not be held.  They will, though, allow local broadcast of the event, so that Central Indiana gets to watch it on television as an alternative.  

If we didn't have other plans for today already, we'd be watching on television at least, just to feel a part of it.  This remains one of our goals to attend to feel like we've really experienced Indianapolis.  Hopefully next year.

For now, hopefully, it's a great race.

One Year Out

Around the time of the George Floyd murder, we watched the movie Just Mercy as a family.  It tells the true story of Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard educated lawyer who travels to Alabama to found the Equal Justice Initiative, a program to help fight for poor people who cannot afford proper legal representation.  Much of his work takes the form of appeals for death row inmates, including Walter "Johnny D" McMillian.  McMillian was an African American man convicted of the 1986 murder of a white woman, Ronda Morrison.  When Stevenson studies McMillian's case, he discovers that the entirety of his conviction hangs on the word of another convicted felon, who traded his testimony for a lighter sentence.  All evidence favorable to McMillian was excluded, including several eye witness testimonies that confirmed that McMillian could not have been involved.  The testimonies were excluded because the witnesses were black.  McMillian was convicted because he had "looked like a criminal" in his mug shot.  And so there is no mistake, he was wrongfully convicted.

He was guilty of existing while black.

Stevenson is also African-American.  The film depicts other instances of Stevenson suffering for existing while black.  He is forced to strip naked before visiting his clients in the prison, something no other attorneys are required to do.  He is pulled over by the cops while driving.  They offer no reason for the stop, but threaten him at gunpoint.  Guilty of the crime of driving while black.

"Driving while black" is the usual way this crime is referenced.  It refers to the tendency of African Americans to be pulled over for no apparent reason.  The thought is the very fact that an African American is driving that type of car, in that neighborhood, at that time of day, and so on and so on, is inherently suspicious.  "Driving while black."

We're seeing that the list of suspicious activities and crimes that African Americans can be stopped for, questioned about, convicted of, and killed for is rapidly increasing.

• Relaxing at home while black- Bothem Jean, Atatiana Jefferson
• Asking for help after a car crash while black - Jonathan Ferrell, Renisha McBride
• Having a cellphone while black - Stephon Clark
• Leaving a party to get to safety while black - Jordan Edwards
• Playing loud music while black- Jordan Davis
• Selling CDs while black - Alton Sterling
• Sleeping while black - Aiyana Jones (7! years old)
• Walking from the corner store while black - Mike Brown
• Playing cops and robbers as kids while black - Tamir Rice
• Going to church while black - The Charleston 9: Clementa Pinckney, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Sanders, Daniel Simmons, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Myra Thompson
• Walking home with Skittles while black, wearing a hoodie while black- Trayvon Martin
• Holding a hair brush, leaving our own bachelor party while black - Sean Bell
• Partying on New Years while black - Oscar Grant
• Getting a traffic ticket while black - Sandra Bland
• Lawfully carrying a weapon while black - Philando Castile
• Having car problems while black - Corey Jones
• Shopping at Wal-Mart while black - John Crawford
• Walking with grandfather while black - Clifford Glover (10 years old)
• Decorating for a party while black - Claude Reese
• Asking a cop a question while black - Randolph Evans
• Cashing a check while black - Yvonne Smallwood
• Taking out wallet while black - Amadou Diallo
• Running while black - Walter Scott
• Breathing while black - Eric Garner
• Having a past while black - Freddie Gray

At that time a year ago we added:

• Jogging while black - Ahmaud Arbery
• Sleeping while black - Breonna Taylor 
• Defending home from invaders who killed girlfriend while black - Kenneth Walker
• Asking someone to obey the law while black - Christian Cooper
• Buying groceries while black - George Floyd

In the year since George Floyd's murder, we've added

• Having an expired vehicle registration - Daunte Wright
• Calling 9-1-1 and trying to defend herself - Ma'khia Bryant

And those are just perhaps two of the most noteworthy.

There have been 181 Black people killed by police since George Floyd's murder.  Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than white people, despite being 1.3 times more likely to be unarmed than white people. These figures are amplified when looking at the country's largest cities.  In 47 of the 50 largest U.S. cities, police killed Black people at higher rates than white people. In Chicago, police killed Black people at a rate 22 times more than that for white people, based on killings per 100,000 population. In Miami, racial disparities could not be calculated because every person killed by the city's police department was Black or brown.  Of the 181 police killings of Black people since Floyd's death, the highest number of killings occurred in Florida, with 19 victims, followed by California, where there were 17, and Texas and Georgia, which each recorded 13.

We would like to think things have changed, and they have in small ways.  But there are so many large scale changes that still need to be implemented.  We have to remember that we are here because of long standing wounds of our past that we have never atoned for completely.  We've always pushed it down the road, because we don't want to deal with harsh truths.  

The thing about wounds is, though, if you don't fully treat it, it just becomes infected.  That's what we have.  A deep infection in the country regarding race, that must be treated.  And the treatment is going to be painful.  It's going to require a lot of substantial change.  And it requires our full attention to it.  All of our attention.

This can't just be a fad cause for allies, like so many others.  We're seeing now that white ally support for change is starting to fade.  Just after Floyd's murder started attracting national attention and starting a conversation about race relations and power, corporations pledged $50 billion to causes on racial equity.  To date, only $250 million has been spent.  Initial investor's meetings and earnings call transcripts had a ten-fold increase in mentions of "systemic racism" and "Black Lives Matter," but those mentions have dropped back down to original levels.

Recent polling numbers show that the support for Black Lives Matter has severely declined. Despite the litany of evidence, a May 21, 2021 PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll insinuates that most white people still don’t believe Black people are treated differently by law enforcement officers. While it shows that ethnic minorities’ support for the movement and for other key indicators for racial justice are higher than they were before George Floyd’s death, white people’s support has declined to levels lower than they were a year ago.

We can't keep going on like this. 

We have to pay attention and do something about it.

Not debating the appropriateness of Critical Race Theory in the Southern Baptist Convention and then conveniently setting it aside so that no action is required to be taken.

Actually committing to make a change in this country.

I know it's hard, but it's simple enough even for children to understand it.

We get it as kids, we've got to do better as adults.  After the Ahmuad Arbery murder came out and there was a call for a Run With Ahmaud on the celebration of his birthday, we participated in that 2.23 mile run.  Jamie and Avalyn ran, I walked Jude in my arms or on my shoulders the whole way.  Jamie asked Avalyn why people do such hateful things.  Avalyn replied, " I think some people just don't like other people because they're black or they think that they are better but I really think it's because they just don't understand that we're all special to God.  We all get happy.  We all get sad and angry.  We're all loved by God."  

Your mouth to God's ears baby girl.

Minneapolis is Burning

"I think America must see that riots do not develop out of thin air.  Certain conditions continue to exist in society which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots.  But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard.  And what is it that America has failed to hear?  It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years.  It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met.  And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality, and humanity.  And so in a real sense our nation's summers of riots are caused by our nation's winters of delay.  And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again.  Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., interview with Mike Wallace for CBS Reports, September 27, 1966

"Urban riots must now be recognized as durable social phenomena.  They may be deplorable, but they are there and should be understood.  Urban riots are a special form of violence.  They are not insurrections.  The rioters are not seeking to seize territory or to attain control of institutions.  They are mainly intended to shock the white community.  They are a distorted form of social protest.  The looting which is their principal feature serves many functions.  It enables the most enraged and deprived Negro to take hold of consumer goods with the ease the white man does by using his purse.  Often the Negro does not even want what he takes; he wants the experience of taking.  But most of all, alienated from society and knowing that this society cherishes property above people, he is shocking it by abusing property rights.  There are thus elements of emotional catharsis in the violent act.  This may explain why most cities in which riots have occurred have not had a repetition, even though the causative conditions remain.  It is also noteworthy that the amount of physical harm done to white people other than police is infinitesimal and in Detroit whites and Negroes looted in unity.

A profound judgment of today's riots was expressed by Victor Hugo a century ago.  He said, 'If a soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed.  The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness."

The policymakers of the white society have caused the darkness; they create discrimination; they structured slums; and they perpetuate unemployment, ignorance and poverty.  It is incontestable and deplorable that Negroes have committed crimes; but they are derivative crimes.  They are born of the greater crimes of the white society.  When we ask Negroes to abide by the law, let us also demand that the white man abide by law in the ghettos.  Day-in and day-out he violates welfare laws to deprive the poor of their meager allotments; he flagrantly violates building codes and regulations; his police make a mockery of law; and he violates laws on equal employment and education and the provisions for civic services.  The slums are the handiwork of a vicious system of the white society; Negroes live in them but do not make them any more than a prisoner makes a prison.  Let us say boldly that if the violations of law by the white man in the slums over the years were calculated and compared with the law-breaking of a few days of riots, the hardened criminal would be the white man.  These are often difficult things to say but I have come to see more and more that it is necessary to utter the truth in order to deal with the great problems we face in our society."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to the American Psychology Associations annual convention, September 1967

Emphasis mine.

This is why we cannot condemn the riots and the police abuse with the same voice, with the same volume and with the same fervor.  There is no question, the burning of Minneapolis is a tragedy.  It is deplorable.  But to decry it to the same level as the continued injustices that are being perpetrated is to prove that we still have not heard, nor have we learned the lesson.  We continue to allow the narrative to be coopted to focus on tranquility and the status quo.  We observe how many Americans are more concerned with order than with justice.

If we need any more proof that we still have not learned our lesson, look at our President.  His response, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."  This is a direct quote from 1967.  From the Miami Police Chief Walter Headley at the GOP convention in December 1967.  A police chief who enacted some of the most racist police procedures at the time.  Shotguns, dogs, and "stop and frisk tactics."  His great quote, "We don't mind being accused of police brutality.  They haven't seen anything yet."

The phrase was also used by segregationist presidential candidate George Wallace in the 1968 presidential campaign. Wallace notoriously opposed desegregation and supported the policies of "Jim Crow" during the Civil Rights movement.  Martin Luther, Jr. called him, "perhaps the most dangerous racist in America today."  

This is who our president quotes.

We still haven't heard them.

We still refuse to hear them.

Thankfully, Dr. King offered us the answer to how we get out of this, how we break the cycle, in the same speech toe he American Psychology Association.

"Thus, it may well be that our world is in dire need of a new organization.  The International Association of Advancement of Creative Maladjustment.  Men and women should be as maladjusted as the prophet Amos, who in the midst of the injustices of his day, could cry out in words that echo across the centuries, 'Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream;' or as maladjusted as Abraham Lincoln, who in the midst of his vacillations finally came to see that this nation could not survive half slave and half free; or as maladjusted as Thomas Jefferson, who in the midst of an age amazingly adjusted to slavery, could scratch across the pages of history, words lifted to cosmic proportions, 'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal.  That they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. And among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'  And through such creative maladjustment, we may be able to emerge from the bleak and desolate midnight of man's inhumanity to man, into the bright and glittering daybreak of freedom and justice.

I have not lost hope.  I must confess that these have been very difficult days for me personally.  And these have been difficult days for every civil rights leader, for every lover of justice and peace."

If only we would listen this time.