If MLK Jr. were alive today, his fight for equality in the civil rights movement and beliefs about racial inequality would have been considered radical, at best. And perhaps they were radical, for the time he was in, certainly, and even, to an extent, today. King was arrested and jailed over thirty times. Anyone with a record like that is labeled a menace to society, a habitual offender. In contemporary America we even have recidivist laws that impose harsher penalties on repeat offenders. A black man in 2024 would be buried under the jail for attending the number of protests that King himself led. Pause for just a moment and think how brave, how unbelievably brave King was to wake up every day knowing he was the most hated man in the entire country, even by his own people who he was fighting for, and still go out there and do the things that made him so hated because he genuinely believed that it was the right thing to do. Standing up for what you believe in is never easy, but none has had it quite so difficult as did Mr. King.
Many current leaders have interpreted some of King’s language and actions to mean that he envisioned a world in which we pretended as if there were no differences in the color of our skin. That we would all just live in harmony with one another as if we all looked the exact same and perhaps noting a difference in our appearance would be considered crass or rude. Maybe the terms “white” and “black” would no longer be accepted as descriptions of physical appearance. And black history would be hushed, because, of course, it would all just be American history, after all.
Now, for all the times King got up in front of all those people and protested and preached about racial equality and justice for all, do you really think he would have laid down, shut up, and pretended he wasn’t black for the sake of harmony, because I don’t. I think King embraced the color of his skin, and I think he would have wanted us to continue embracing ours as well as our many differences in appearance as a part of the harmony he dreamt of, not using that harmony as a tool to hush our voices and undermine our rich and powerful history.
One way contemporary leaders are doing their part to end the racial inequality that has been a benchmark of this country since its inception is through the use of Critical Race Theory, a school of thought that proposes the only way to end the systematic discrimination in America is through education, teaching white Americans to recognize the unearned privileges they have been privy to and to recognize the biases within themselves that allow systematic discrimination to continue, therefore enabling them to make a conscious effort to stop allowing those biases to impact their words and actions and truly curbing inequality where it starts.
“In July, (former) House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said, “Critical race theory goes against everything Martin Luther King has ever told us, don’t judge us by the color of our skin, and now they’re embracing it.” Hold on, NOW they’re embracing it? I’m not so sure that’s new, McCarthy. My message to you today, as we remember the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. is to continue embracing your beautiful black skin. Keep embracing those differences that separate us, white from black, and embrace the fact that these differences no longer have to be a weapon against us, but can be a tool to unite us all, to bring about real change, and to learn to truly forgive. Through embracing our skin color and educating others on the ways that discrimination forms, develops, takes place, and spreads like wildfire, we are empowering not only ourselves but others to finally put a real end to this madness. To make King’s dream come true. Embrace, Erase, Empower.
Contributing Sources:
Fortin, J. (2021). Critical Race Theory, A Brief History.
Kendi, I. (2021). The Second Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mathis, D. (2018). King’s Message of Nonviolence Has Been Distorted.
About the Author: TIA IS AN INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST HERE AT BLACK. SHE HOLDS DEGREES IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND APPLIED ECONOMICS FROM SNHu and SHE IS A FIRST-YEAR LAW STUDENT AT PURDUE GLOBAL LAW SCHOOL, PURSUING HER JD. SHE ALSO HAS A CERTIFICATION IN HUMAN RIGHTS FROM WASSMUTH CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN BOISE IDAHO AND SHE RECENTLY INTERNED FOR THE OFFICE OF BUDGET AND ENTITLEMENT POLICY AT CATO INSTITUTE IN WASHINGTON D.C. TIA IS A RESULTS 2024 ORGANIZING AND ADVOCACY FELLOW AND OUTREACH AND PARTNERSHIPS COORDINATOR. She LIVES WITH HER HUSBAND AND 3 CHILDREN IN HURRICANE, WV. IN HER FREE TIME, SHE ENJOYS CONTEMPORARY ART, FASHION, HOME DECOR, READING, AND FAMILY. TIA IS PASSIONATE ABOUT PROTECTING AMERICAN CONSUMERS AND CORPORATIONS AND IS A STRONG PROPONENT FOR OPEN MARKETS, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND EQUALITY FOR ALL. HER CURRENT FOCUS IS SLAVERY REPARATIONS, ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM SOLVENCY, AND BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS PROCESS REFORM. WHILE TIA IS NOT BLACK, SHE SUPPORTS THE FIGHT FOR EQUAL RIGHTS AND HOPES TO SOMEDAY LIVE IN A WORLD OF HARMONY, ONE WHERE SKIN COLOR NO LONGER MATTERS. SHE BELIEVES UNEARNED PRIVILEGE CREATES A DUTY TO ACT AGAINST RACIAL INJUSTICES.