FORTY YEARS AND BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED by Larry Stout
FORTY YEARS AND BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED by Larry Stout
I am writing this on the forty-year anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr in Memphis. Those who have followed my writings here or in my books will note that I have long considered Martin Luther King, Jr. one of the greatest Americans who ever lived. I do not say one of the greatest black Americans, either. I believe that to designate Dr. King in such a way derogates everything he stood for.
The famous “I have a dream” speech in Washington DC on August 28, 1963, is in my opinion, the most well-crafted and eloquent speeches in American history. Dr. King’s ‘dream’ was a nation that was color-blind. He said so beautifully; “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” He believed that this was America’s dream, which is why he tied his message to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivering his message on the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s great speech). I have a poster in my office of Dr. King with the text of the Dream Speech under his picture. It is my dream too.
The one aspect of Senator Obama’s presidential run that I admired was that he was not seen as a “black” candidate. At least, not at first, but unfortunately, that dream has died. Never has identity politics been stronger than it is today. Many women believe it is a betrayal to vote against Hillary Clinton, and blacks equally see a violation in anything critical of Barack Obama. There is much to be considered in the political positions of these two individuals, but when the focus is on gender, race or other ethnicity, their message gets lost in the fog.
Given the political climate of today, surely Senator Obama would eventually have lost his aura of color neutrality, but ironically, the pin in Obama’s balloon came from his home town pastor. I believe Martin Luther King, Jr. would be horrified at the tirades of a Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago’s south side (and not incidentally, Senator Obama’s home church) is on record as stating that there is a continual war between blacks and whites in America, even to the point of claiming that the AIDS virus was created to sublimate the black man. In his “A More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia on March 18th, Senator Obama sought to put some distance between himself and his former pastor and spiritual mentor. Yet at the same time, he claimed America is “bound to a tragic past” and that “race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now.” It would seem to hear these words that we are not much further on than we were four decades ago.
America lost a great American in Memphis in 1968, and I believe if his words would be remembered, we would not be struggling with these same issues anew. I wish there were more men and women of Christ with the convictions of Dr. King, who could affirm “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28). As believers in Christ of all races, we should renounce the divide that a Rev. Wright represents, and exemplify unity that goes beyond prejudice in any form. Would that we, Christ’s ambassadors, would truly be the light and salt that this world needs so desperately.
I am writing this on the forty-year anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr in Memphis. Those who have followed my writings here or in my books will note that I have long considered Martin Luther King, Jr. one of the greatest Americans who ever lived. I do not say one of the greatest black Americans, either. I believe that to designate Dr. King in such a way derogates everything he stood for.
The famous “I have a dream” speech in Washington DC on August 28, 1963, is in my opinion, the most well-crafted and eloquent speeches in American history. Dr. King’s ‘dream’ was a nation that was color-blind. He said so beautifully; “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” He believed that this was America’s dream, which is why he tied his message to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivering his message on the 100th anniversary of Lincoln’s great speech). I have a poster in my office of Dr. King with the text of the Dream Speech under his picture. It is my dream too.
The one aspect of Senator Obama’s presidential run that I admired was that he was not seen as a “black” candidate. At least, not at first, but unfortunately, that dream has died. Never has identity politics been stronger than it is today. Many women believe it is a betrayal to vote against Hillary Clinton, and blacks equally see a violation in anything critical of Barack Obama. There is much to be considered in the political positions of these two individuals, but when the focus is on gender, race or other ethnicity, their message gets lost in the fog.
Given the political climate of today, surely Senator Obama would eventually have lost his aura of color neutrality, but ironically, the pin in Obama’s balloon came from his home town pastor. I believe Martin Luther King, Jr. would be horrified at the tirades of a Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The former pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago’s south side (and not incidentally, Senator Obama’s home church) is on record as stating that there is a continual war between blacks and whites in America, even to the point of claiming that the AIDS virus was created to sublimate the black man. In his “A More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia on March 18th, Senator Obama sought to put some distance between himself and his former pastor and spiritual mentor. Yet at the same time, he claimed America is “bound to a tragic past” and that “race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now.” It would seem to hear these words that we are not much further on than we were four decades ago.
America lost a great American in Memphis in 1968, and I believe if his words would be remembered, we would not be struggling with these same issues anew. I wish there were more men and women of Christ with the convictions of Dr. King, who could affirm “there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28). As believers in Christ of all races, we should renounce the divide that a Rev. Wright represents, and exemplify unity that goes beyond prejudice in any form. Would that we, Christ’s ambassadors, would truly be the light and salt that this world needs so desperately.
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