The
planned dedication and ceremony to formally consecrate the National Memorial
Monument of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington, D.C. will
soon take place after the recent postponement due to the challenging weather
conditions resulting from Hurricane Irene. It is not that unusual, however, to now witness a growing
chorus of people who are expressing their opinions on the stone structure’s style
and architecture, the chiseled inscriptions of King’s quotes, and the overall
intended tone that should exude from the moment.
I believe
that we all should be very grateful to the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and
to Harry E. Johnson and the King Memorial Foundation for their outstanding
leadership over the many years to bring this significant project to a permanent
establishment. Of course, we also
have to recognize and thank the King family for their long fortitude and
steadfastness of commitment to keep the dream, legacy and spirit of Martin
Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King alive and well for millions of people
in America and throughout the world.
As a
former North Carolina state youth director for Golden Frinks and the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in NC in the 1960’s under the leadership
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I would like to add just a word to enjoin the
current public debate about the King National Memorial. I support the memorial. I believe that this monument in Washington,
D.C. will not only stimulate a much needed review and broader comprehension of
the leadership of Dr. King, but also even for those who have posited their
criticisms concerning some aspects of the King National Memorial, this monument
strategically located in the nation’s capital will bring renewed interests and
involvement in the ongoing Civil Rights Movement. In other words, we all should be striving today to make sure
that the “Monument” reflects and represents the “Movement” not just of the
past, but just as importantly the “Movement” today for freedom, justice,
equality, jobs and empowerment.
At a time
in the United State when we are clearly heading into another difficult national
political debate and polarizing crossroads on issues like voting rights, jobs,
poverty, racial discrimination, immigration, environmental injustice,
disproportionate incarceration, home ownership and land loss, and other severe
economic inequalities impacting the African American community, we need the
Civil Rights Movement today just as much as we needed the movement 40 years
ago. Again we urgently have to
ask, “Where is the Movement today that the King Monument represents?”
In an
Op-Ed piece in The New York Times, the renowned scholar Dr. Cornel West
emphasized, “King weeps from his grave. He never confused substance with symbolism. He never conflated a flesh and blood sacrifice with a stone and
mortar edifice. We rightly celebrate his substance and sacrifice because he
loved us all so deeply. Let us not
remain satisfied with symbolism because we too often fear the challenge he
embraced.” Dr. West affirms
the liberation theology of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that necessitated a
visible, audacious, challenging, revolutionary, and moral praxis that
encouraged a massive and participatory grassroots Civil Rights Movement led in
many instances by the Black American church in coalition with many others of
conscience and spirit.
We should
all recall that at one point in the movement, in spite of differences in
ideology, age, class-orientation, political party or other social distinctions,
the NAACP, SCLC, National Urban League, CORE, and SNCC all worked together in
coalition with others in the Civil Rights Movement in the interests of
advancing the cause of freedom, justice, jobs and liberation for all. Today we
have more national organizations than we had in the 1950’s and 1960’s, but
Black people in America are less organized and mobilized primarily because we
have less unity and sense of purpose among us as a people. In 2008, the election of President
Barack H. Obama was an important milestone in the history of our long struggle
for freedom. 2008 also witnessed the largest voter turnout of African American
voters in U.S. history. We have to
rekindle that kind of voter mobilization across the nation once again. There are efforts in more than 20
states today to repress Black and Latino voter turnout. The forces of reaction and repression
are at work to systematically prevent another large Black voter turnout. How is it that there are some who still
say “Well, we really don’t need a movement today?” I am hopeful that the dedication of the new National
Memorial for Dr. King will at least remind more of us that we still have a lot
of work to do. We still have
serious civil rights and human rights issues to be addressed and challenged.
In
particular I see so many of our young people who cry out today for a deeper
understanding and appreciation for what happened and how it happened 50 and 40
year ago in the movement for change. There is no better way to get that kind of an understanding than to
simply join the movement and help to lead our struggle forward. I caution against the rise of cynicism
and hopelessness in our community. You can be critical without becoming
cynical. Constructive criticism
always has its place. But we
should not indulge in throwing stones of disunity at each other. Let’s show our love for the love that
Dr. King gave to all of us by revitalizing the movement that he led: the Civil Rights Movement. Let’s build and expand the “Movement”
that the King “Monument” reflects and represents.
Dr.
Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is Senior Advisor to the Black Alliance for Educational
Options (BAEO) and President of Education Online Services Corporation and the
Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN).
