Reflections on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In April of 1968, just before Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, he marched with disenfranchised sanitation workers in Memphis, TN.
Those in the march carried signs, which read “I AM A MAN.” The signs were a call to the powers that be in Memphis to respect their manhood and to give them a living wage so that they would be able to support their families as a man should. In the summer and fall of 2014, protestors in Ferguson, MO., and Staten Island, NY., and then in hundreds of cities around the country carried signs which read “BLACK LIVES MATTER!” in response to the rash of killings of unarmed black and brown men and boys by the police. The battle is far from over.
We believed that with each advancement in the civic and political arenas that the lives the African-Americans and other people of color would significantly change for the better. That once we achieved voting rights, open accommodations laws, a lessening of discrimination in employment, being able to live and shop where one wanted to, having access to higher education and an increase in the number of elected and appointed officials of color, including, who would have believed, the highest position in the land, President of the United States, we believed that our work would be done. We believed, as did Dr. King in the dream, “that one day . . .” Without a doubt, a great deal has changed since 1968. But, the battle is far from over.
Where does the fault lay? Are we as a people not demanding enough, applying enough pressure? Has real power dissipated because we no longer have a leader like Dr. King? Sorry, Rev. Sharpton. Dr. King pushed the moral compass. Dr. King reached deep down and inspired our spirits to witness to the betterment of humankind. Dr. King made us feel that we should be willing to sacrifice for what was right. He knew that it would take more than a march to rally bring about the changing of the human heart. And they were afraid of Dr. King because they knew that he would not stop.
He wanted to change the world we lived in, in human rights, ending the war, ending of poverty and they knew he had the deep spirit to not give up and that if we listened, we would not give up either. He was not seeking anything for himself. “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right,” he told us. He only sought to be true to his call from God and to inspire others to love justice. But the battle is far from over.
Some say that there is no longer a need for the Union of Black Episcopalians, that it has run its course. However, until the battle is over, there will still be a need for a voice within the church that calls for our brothers and sisters to end racism and oppression, economic inequality and sexism. There still needs to be that voice that recounts the contributions of black Episcopalians to the goal of full equality in and out of the church.
Until the battle is won and the dream is a reality, we are not done.
Source: Written by The Rev. Kwasi Thornell. Father Kwasi was the UBE Vice President from 1988-1988, and President from 1988-1990.