Kweku’s Korner
By Dr. Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi
Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi, formerly known as Ramel Smith
On January 20, 2025, the country recognized the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his leadership and the many other sung and unsung heroes that helped to bring America to her better angels. King entered the world stage at the age of 26 and left at the age of 39. Over a decade, he left a legacy that resounds as loud as the rolling sea. He left a lot of memorable quotes and questions for future generations to ask and answer. The one we posed to ask is Where do we go from here?
The first question we ask is where “here” is. And how did we get “here.” As children of the diaspora, we understand a lot of us didn’t start here and our ancestors who were here before the colonizers came had their lives drastically changed upon that arrival. Since, at least, the 17th century we understand people were treated like chattel for almost two hundred and fifty years. There was a 12-year respite during the Reconstruction era, but Jim Crow halted those gains and set another level of legalized overt discrimination. Men and women like King fought hard for Civil Rights for all people and gave the nation a glimmer of hope. However, those hopes and dreams have only been realized by a small percentage of these marginalized groups while the majority still sit in a lower tier of citizenship. At the end of his life, King saw the moral decay and decline of America and feared their efforts may have been in vain. King saw the burning of America in the future as clearly as he saw the flames of Rome in the past. This is how we got here. This is not a safe place. This is not a place that creates justice for all. So, where do we go?
Well, we have only a few places to go. We can stay and play in the burning house and be entertained in the coliseum and intoxicate ourselves with all the pleasures we can afford or consume. We can stay and try to save a building that is destined to fall if the status quo remains. We can leave. We can go to another country. Let me warn those whose bags are packed. You can’t outrun the virus of colonization and injustice. It was King who stated, that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. So, it is up to us to do something!
So, who are we? We are all those who are friends to equality and justice. These like-minded warriors must understand the best predictor of the future is the past. Let us replicate the good and delete the negative from the past. What are we willing to do now that will move the needle? Understanding what we must do may make enemies and invite danger into our lives.
I guess that is why we love, respect and revere King. He knew we could get to the mountaintop. He knew all of us would not make it. He, and many other martyrs, showed what could be done, even when it cost their lives. King stated that the person who hasn’t found something they are willing to die for isn’t fit to live. Find your passion and the hill you are willing to die on. Now, let’s GO!!