“Oh, there been times that I thought
I couldn’t last for long
But now I think I’m able, to carry on”
Sam Cooke “A Change Is Gonna Come”
Today we celebrate changes made by men and women two generations ago to end the overt era of American Apartheid.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is deservedly the face of that change, but he never forgot that he didn’t do it alone, and in his most famous speech he discussed the hope that “black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics” would be able to come together in peace.
But even as he celebrated what could happen in the future, King never forgot there were past grievances that needed to be addressed if our country, our world was ever going to advance:
“Many of the ugly pages of American history have been obscured and forgotten. A society is always eager to cover misdeeds with a cloak of forgetfulness, but no society can fully repress an ugly past when the ravages persist into the present. America owes a debt of justice which it has only begun to pay. If it loses the will to finish or slackens in its determination, history will recall its crimes and the country that would be great will lack the most element of greatness — justice.”
And that brings us to what will occur at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday, January 20.
A change that some (roughly 81,000,000 people) believe will bring positive change.
It’s also a change thousands of people stormed the capitol to prevent, to continue a very ugly past and to help keep justice and equity from those who have earned it.
Each of those insurrectionists—and lets strip away the euphemisms, explanations interpretations and polite words, they are insurrectionists, and we’ve seen the VIDEO EVIDENCE of just how far they were willing to go to prevent the next step in the orderly transition of government—have their reasons on why they were afraid of change.
But their primary fear, as I’ve discussed before is the fear of losing power and position.
On Wednesday, we wake up to a new world, with the realization that there are many who would be willing to plunge our country into Civil War to prevent it.
So to quote the title of Rev. Dr. King’s last book: “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?”
I don’t know about you, but I feel that we’ve dealt with chaos for the last four years:
Chaos in our communities as people turn their backs on those who make them feel “uncomfortable” (insert your own definition of uncomfortable),
Chaos involving those we would like to believe protect us—an extension of a concern played out in front of our very eyes (AGAIN) several times during the plague year of 2020,
Chaos in the simple realization that far too many people today are fighting a war that was settled by their great-great grandparents (if those relatives had actually arrived on these shores between 1861 and 1865), egged on by the former game show host who convinced them that their cause isn’t lost, it was just stolen from them.
I know that it won’t be easy, because the good, tough things never are easy, but I want to believe that people (some, not all, because let’s admit it, some people—on both sides—are simply going to fight to their last breath to sow chaos, anarchy and insurrection) are willing to make a sincere effort toward building community.
We are celebrating the change the Rev. Dr. King and good people from across America made over five decades ago.
Here’s to January 20, 2021 becoming then next chapter in people across America making “good trouble” and continuing our journey toward the “Beloved Community” and that we will achieve what the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed was still possible:
“In some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.”
Until Next Time.
Thoughts From A Short Round Black Man 