In my opinion, January 2021 has been very unusual. We’ve had three big events: validating the Electoral Votes, ; then, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 18th) and followed by Inauguration Day (January 20th): the latter two in the same week. Under other circumstances, I would have thought of the first as a technicality, stopped to ponder on the second and looked forward to the third. However, January changed things.

Oh Yeah...I Have A Dream
For anyone with a passing interest in Dr. King, they probably would say that they “know” his “I Have A Dream” speech. As I found out, the reality is that what gets repeatedly played is the very end.

I am embarrassed to say that I hadn’t given the speech a lot of thought because I thought (based on my experience) that it was “in the past.” I assumed that we had The Civil Rights Movement, some laws were passed and, then, we “moved on” because “things were better.” Unfortunately, I wasn’t as correct as I had hoped.

This year, I felt that I had to dig deeper. This post holds my thoughts on this important, timeless speech.

How Free (Were They)?

“But one hundred years later [following The Emancipation Proclamation], the Negro still is not free; one hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination; one hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity; one hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land.”

With the above executive order, President Lincoln said that, as of September 22, 1862, he and the military would recognize slaves’ free status. However, it wasn’t until The Thirteenth Amendment that slavery was formally abolished. While slaves and their descendants were (legally) free, one hundred years later they were still subject to segregation and discrimination through Jim Crow laws, which constantly, consistently prevented them from enjoying the same benefits as others. Why?

Life, Liberty and…?

“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 the 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.”

History shows that the people initially enjoying these protections were Caucasian (men). To add context to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” this came from Enlightenment philosopher, John Locke’s (familiar to many of our Founding Fathers, particularly Thomas Jefferson) Second Treatise Concerning Civil Government, where he argued that nature gave us life, liberty and property and government existed to protect them. However, it was Benjamin Franklin who helped to remove the word “property” and left us with the phrase that we now know. So if nature gave us these rights, who are we not to help protect them for all?

Coming To Collect (On Freedom and Justice)

“Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds…” We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.”

I think that we could file behavior not limited to using firehoses against, siccing dogs on and/or attacking non-resisting protesters in that era under a “bad check.” Despite these actions, it’s courageous that Dr. King and his supporters didn’t take our Founding Fathers’ routes but still worked to get the rights to which they were already entitled by but not limited to natural law (John Locke), the Emancipation Proclamation (Pres. Abraham Lincoln) and the 13th Amendment while remaining committed to nonviolence.

Now (Is The Time)

“Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy; now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice; now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood; now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children…It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment.”

Here, with the repeated word now, I can hear the urgency. Dr. King demanded the promises to which everyone was supposed to be entitled. He argued for us to transcend segregation and provide justice (for all). In this passage, Dr. King connected justice to brotherhood, then to all of us being God’s children. While I don’t feel that it’s necessary to believe in God (if you don’t), I do feel that we could still connect his lines of thinking.

Little Left To Tolerate

“This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content, will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.”

In my opinion, it’s eerie to read this. He alluded to the consequences of not granting these rights and protections to all. It’s like he foresaw the ‘67 riots during “The Summer of Love,” then later the ones following his own assassination. Truthfully, I think that it’s more about him knowing of what so many experienced and how little that they would tolerate.

As I read this, I think about my ignorance in thinking that we “were past it.” Just because I hadn’t experienced horrific mistreatment, this didn’t mean that others hadn’t. I want you to reread this. I have to believe that there were many others that were similarly (and perhaps conveniently) ignorant. In my opinion, we saw that we weren’t really “past it,” as evidenced by the riots and the social justice protests of 2020. For the people that had legitimate grievances: they were angry, may have tried to address injustices through the legal or other legitimate systems only to see alleged offenders escape punishment. If many saw this happen many times, then shouldn’t the exploding anger be understandable? To me, it seems that too many people did “overlook the urgency of the moment.”

Staying On The High(er) Road

“But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the worn threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”

This passage immediately followed the former and I’m glad that it did. While Dr. King warned about what could result after repeated miscarriages of justice, he cautioned against committing “wrongful deeds.” I can only surmise that this call included but wasn’t limited to committing violence and destroying property. This would have been in keeping with his philosophy of nonviolence that partially drew on Christian teachings of loving one’s enemy. Talk about the courage that it took for non-resisting protestors (not just African-Americans) not to fight back nor hate their attackers and persecutors.

“…Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy, which has engulfed the Negro community, must not lead us to a distrust of all white people. For many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.”

Here, it looks like my guess may be correct. Here, Dr. King called for moderation and described the tool with which his people could respond: soul force. While there were some Caucasians that were attackers, there were others that were literally side-by-side with them. Additionally, up until then, Caucasians enjoyed the benefit of the protections that began with the Declaration of Independence. For those that were unaware of how bad things were, surely watching some of the brutal news coverage of protests would have shaken them aware.

Not Satisfied As Long As…

“We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality; we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities; we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one; we can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”; we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro in Mississippi cannot vote, and the Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote.”

Unfortunately, we are still talking about police brutality, which was mentioned in the first sentence of this passage. I would say that one of the differences between now and then is that video of these alleged incidents is more readily available. If you think about it, who doesn’t have a smartphone with a halfway decent camera? However, even when video seems to clearly show incidents, rarely does it result in any notable punishment. While there are, as Dr. King said earlier, “..those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content, will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual.” Unfortunately, I feel that this is where we are now: justice hasn’t been consistently delivered and, eventually there have been a series of “matches” that exploded the simmering, accumulated anger.

In the next sentence, Dr. King referred to the rampant discrimination in travel lodging. I think that it was at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn that I saw a copy of The Green Book, which gave listings of African-American friendly businesses that would feed or lodge travelers that wouldn’t have been permitted elsewhere. It was only with the upcoming civil rights legislation that The Green Book became unnecessary.

Dr. King, then, spoke about moving from “a smaller ghetto to a larger one.” It seems here that, among other things, he referred to redlining: the systematic practice of limiting where African-Americans could live by making mortgages, in certain areas, unaffordable. Two common ways were to straight-up deny mortgages to African-Americans or only avail the ones with horrendous terms (ex. obscenely high interest rates). Then, there was other discrimination, where neighborhoods or cities would prohibit POCs (People of “Color”) from moving in or strongly discourage it. Since then, various legislation has been passed including Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA) that officially outlawed discrimination on various factors, including race.

When I arrived at the last sentence, I couldn’t help but think about this last presidential election. In the news, I remember hearing various reports of voting access being limited, particularly in areas populated by POCs. Despite these efforts, I saw video news reports of POCs in long lines implausibly long hours just to vote. Even with these obstacles, they still turned out in unprecedented numbers.

This Situation Can (Will) Change)

“I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations…Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution…Go back to the slums and ghettos…knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.”

Some of us feel like we’ve been put through the ringer, during these last four years. Some have only imagined the things that others have directly experienced: some really horrible things. When you’ve been through so much, it’s hard to keep going. However, here, Dr. King called the audience (and now us) to still keep the hope that our circumstances can and will change. Previously, he repeatedly used the word now as a mantra to emphasize a sense of urgency. By the same token, I would say that now, also, gives us the hope of the possibility that change can happen in the present, not in the future.

I Have A Dream
Shortly after the previous passage, I arrived to the tail end of the “I Have A Dream” speech that I have heard many times. I was able to see some of the previously mentioned ideas revisited.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”

Let’s start with the first sentence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” I just looked up self-evident and found this definition “not needing proof in order to be accepted.” In my mind, “not needing proof” means that something should be accepted as a given. Here, Dr. King suggested another wonderful given: “the sons of former slaves” finding no difference between themselves and the “sons of former slaveowners.” If all men (and women) are created equal, then why is there so much resistance to make this happen?

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

When I think of this passage, I think about the fortunate childhood that I was blessed to have. I went to a diverse K-8, where, while I knew that my name was different, my name nor identity was never an issue for my classmates. However, years later, I saw how other people either had an issue with me or felt it necessary to make inappropriate comments. In a previous post, “So Where Are You From?” I mentioned, when I worked at the call center, and customers said anything ranging from “Wow, you sound educated” to “You don’t sound like a José.“ So, then, what am I supposed to sound like? Was I too educated? There were and are people that think that it’s “okay” to make similar judgements or comments (which, by themselves, doesn’t automatically mean that they are “bad people”) but it does demonstrate that it is a “thing” or hang-up for them. Why is that?

“This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope…With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”

Hope and faith (not necessarily of the religious kind): what great ideas?! I look at these challenges that Dr. King issued then that we should still try to achieve: maintaining hope, achieving brotherhood, working and struggling together and trying to achieve freedom for all. These challenges, unfortunately, are not specific to one group of people.

“And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”

As I read this concluding passage, I think about the promise that our country should hold for all. I say should because not everybody has access to the same protections and opportunities for reasons out of their control not limited to “skin color” or their circumstances of birth. While Dr. King referred to “all of God’s children,” I think that he, also, would have included non-believers. If we badly want freedom (and we should), we can (all) reach true, complete freedom that holds us together and to which we are entitled.

WE WILL BE FREE ONE DAY. WE WILL BE FREE AT LAST.

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