We remember Dr. King for his unwavering fight for civil rights and justice. He was also a warrior in overcoming what he called the three evils: War, Racism, and Poverty.
As we face such struggles in our nation today, we must take heart that while we have setbacks that may seem insurmountable, the solidarity of the community gives us the strength to fight on. And through it all, it is important to remember that we can experience moments of joy.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 1967 speech at the National Conference on New Politics in Chicago.
At a particularly harrowing pivot point in the history of the USA, we are in a time of sharp reliefs.
There have always been divisions from the inception of the nation, generally understood as the Federalist – State’s Rights divide. The Constitution, in the original sin of the nation’s founding, upheld the ultimate state’s rights issue by allowing for slavery to continue: a decision that continues to roil our understanding of justice and the rights of citizens and those who reside in our nation.
As Dr. King began his extraordinary crusade for Civil Rights, the nation had to face up to the deep divisions of racism, and in so doing spurred on the civil rights legislation that over a generation guaranteed rights for African Americans, women, LGBTQ+, Native Americans, immigrants, the disabled, and many other classes of people who were marginalized and overlooked.
And yet, here we are: Racist. Sexist. Anti-Gay. Anti-Trans. Banning books. Banning speech. Dismantling public education through anti-intellectualism and the removal of critical inquiry. And on, and on, as we face the disillusionment of the fourth estate and the celebration of corruption that is transactional oligarchy.
The legacy of Dr. King , however, remains.
His last speech in Memphis in support of the sanitation worker’s strike, known as the I’ve Been To The Mountaintop speech, given on the eve of his martyrdom, remains to instruct us.
May we all have the strength to leave our world better than we found it.
Girlboxing 