Columnist Jamala Rogers
There’s an old gospel song with an affirming refrain, “And my living will not be in vain.” The 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination seems an appropriate time to reflect on the song “If I can help somebody.”
Dr. King was struck down by an assassin’s bulletin on April 4, 1968 under circumstances that are still shrouded in mystery. It is a time to reflect on his life and his death. Such a reflection also seems appropriate on the heels of Barack Obama’s speech on race, begging the question: How far have we come with racial equality and justice in this country?
The struggle to not just discuss race but to act on it was a motivating factor for the life work of Dr. King. In a prophetic way, he knew that he was not destined for a long life. For King, that meant every struggle had to count for change and he often agonized over his strategy and tactics.
Whether it was the Montgomery bus boycott or supporting the Memphis sanitation workers, Dr. King addressed the issues of racism and poverty that put a stranglehold on the majority of America’s people. For African Americans, it was particularly acute as our collective history in this country began with slavery, or what Senator Obama calls the “original sin.” The vestiges are not history but they are still the present.
We are a predatory nation, not just as a government that bullies and exploits other nations but on the individual level. We have come to a place where universal truths have been thrown to the wind. What’s right or wrong is a matter of personal opinion, and that opinion is based upon who you are and where you stand in the hierarchy.
We have become a nation hardened by American life no matter where we are in the social and economic rung. We have turned inward trying to shield ourselves from all the pain and suffering of ourselves and others lest we have to extend a helping hand. It appears that we are losing hope that humanity is worth saving, believing that doing nothing is actually a better response than doing something.
Our self-destructive tendencies manifest themselves in various ways. Nearly 25 million of us are addicted to alcohol and drugs. Forty percent of the population takes at least one prescription drug; one out of six of us must have three or more. We kill each other in the workplace, in hospitals, in the home, on the street.
The treatment of our young is an indicator of our view and value of the future, and it is a sad commentary. The deaths of children under 5 years old is increasing, and the deadly abuse comes from another human being. Our lack of resources for a support system that nurtures and cares for our young people is also a testament to what we think about the future.
When we get bombarded this week with all the TV and documentaries about the life of Dr. King, it is equally important to remember why he was struck down before his 40th birthday. It was not because he was non-violent. It was because he dared to raise up the questions that America still refuses to squarely face, that of race and class.
I don’t want Dr. King’s or any of our other freedom fighters to have lived their lives in vain. This country still has an unpaid debt to Dr. King and it starts with each of us making good on that returned check.