By LaKeshia N. Myers
Representative LaKeshia Myers
As a teacher, I have always striven to tell my students the truth. That truth often includes humanizing historical figures in order to show students that everyday people can do extraordinary things. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a case study in this humanization process. As an instructor, I do my best to delve into Dr. King beyond his dream. In my classes we discuss Dr. King’s disdain for the Vietnam War, his advocacy for open housing in Chicago, the Poor People’s Campaign and the war on poverty, and his terse relationship with his religious peers in the National Baptist Convention.
The message is clear, his “dream” was a blueprint for democracy. The tangible assets of Dr. King’s dream have yet to come to fruition, fifty-six years after his murder. If you study the “I Have a Dream” speech closely, it is less a speech, but more of a demand to the United States for equity. Dr. King clearly states, “In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, Black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.”
I believe that while we have achieved some gains, we are still dealing with “insufficient funds.” The Black/white wealth gap has continued to widen, unemployment and underemployment is pervasive in Black and Brown communities, and as a nation we have yet to end the practice of tipped wage, and our minimum wage has not kept pace with the rate of inflation. It is my belief that race and class eventually intersect with one another, while many people of color have found economic success and have been able to escape poverty, the callous nature of racism (and other isms) have become much more pervasive in terms of policy and this too, has slowed progress.
As we reflect on the life of Dr. King, I would like to encourage everyone to go straight to the source, by reading Dr. King’s books. Strength to Love, Where Do We Go From Here, Why We Can’t Wait, and Stride Toward Freedom teach us about Dr. King the man, the philosopher, the minister. It also gives us a blueprint into the tangible asks that we must still fight for today. We are not finished fighting, the race is not yet won, if anything, the flame of social justice has been reignited. Join the fight, but study the masters to understand the depth of the fight.