DEBORAH CROMBIE: It seems very fitting that our celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. falls just before the inauguration of our 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, and our Vice-President Elect, Kamala Harris. Don't you wonder what Dr. King would have thought about the first Black woman elected to this office? I'm quite sure he'd have been proud. And I'm also quite sure he'd have told us that we still have a long way to go to reach the vision he held for this country.
I was a young teenager when Dr. King was assassinated, and I don't remember his death ever even being discussed in our house--and of course there was no access to news other than what was on the nightly broadcasts. That my parents didn't express outrage strikes me now as a terrible thing. And I am horrified that I was so un-engaged and uniformed. It certainly wouldn't be true of most teenagers today. But Dr. King's words and his legacy have grown larger and so much more meaningful to me over the years. I hope I appreciate now just how exceptional he was, and how much his message inspired--and continues to inspire--people all over the world. And I am shocked now, to think how young he was, and to wonder what he might have done is his life hadn't been cut so tragically short.
I cannot listen to James Taylor's SHED A LITTLE LIGHT without tears. (Rick and I were lucky enough to see JT perform this live a couple of years ago. It was sublime.)
Oh, let us turn our thoughts today
To Martin Luther King
And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women living on the Earth
Ties of hope and love
Sister and brotherhood
That we are bound together
In our desire to see the world
Become a place in which our children
Can grow free and strong
We are bound together by the task
That stands before us
And the road that lies ahead
We are bound, and we are bound
There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist
There is a hunger in the center of the chest
There is a passage through the darkness and the mist
And though the body sleeps
The heart will never rest
REDS, what words from Dr. King will you carry with you into this historic week?
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, no quotes, but persistence, determination, bravery, courage, love. It is the perfect time for this day, isn’t it? We could not need it more.
RHYS BOWEN: He would have been so proud of Kamala! But it depresses me that we haven’t come very far, have we. Last week’s act of terror is eerily reminiscent of those howling mobs and snarling dogs of the fifties and sixties. The only hope is that most young people are tolerant and anti- racist. They expect to have friends of all races ( and most of us feel that way too)
LUCY BURDETTE: Oh I agree Rhys--the crowd storming the capital scares me to death for our country. This year of Black Lives Matter events gave me some hope. I participated in a book group to study STAMPED. It was hard work and difficult reading but I did think the country was moving in the right direction. Now I see just how hard the path will be. But for sure, MLK would not have allowed us to get discouraged...
HALLIE EPHRON: Terms like dignity and speaking truth to power come to mind when I think of Dr. King. And his voice echoes in my head. In 1968 I was at Columbia. Very aware of what was going on but not quite believing… dreams dashed. Like now, I’m afraid.
JENN McKINLAY: “The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what’s important.” -- MLK, Jr.
This one has sat with me for a while now. To me, it is a call to action to make my own life and the lives of those around me better because you simply don’t know how long you’re going to be here.
And so, the fight continues for equality, justice, and freedom -- for everyone. While it’s amazing that Kamala Harris is our first VP of color - and a woman! - the fact that it’s 2021 is inexcusable. This is fifty years later than it should have been. Frankly, had I been out of pig tails, Shirley Chisholm would have had my vote in 1972. Fun fact: her epitaph reads, “Unbought and Unbossed” which was her campaign slogan from 1968 on. We didn’t deserve her.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: “We all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free market capitalism for the poor.” This quote has been on my mind in a year when we have millions of people who have been thrown out of work, lines wrapping around the block at food pantries - and a record high stock market. The "K" shaped recovery is a lesson to all of us - if we hadn't gotten the message before - that there can be no equality of education and opportunity in a system that privitizes profit and socializes loss. The pandemic has thrown all the fault lines of our society into sharp relief (something Dr. King did in his writings and speeches) and offers us a rare chance to reset to something better going forward - if we dare to dream.
DEBS: Readers, what are your thoughts today?
It’s a sad commentary on our society to see how little progress we’ve actually made . . . .
ReplyDeleteQuotes from Doctor King that are particularly meaningful to me:
"The time is always right to do what is right."
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."
Those are wonderful, Joan!
DeleteThere are a couple of quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr. that show how he lived his life, how his life was in service to others. They are:
ReplyDelete"Use me, God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose great than myself."
"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."
Also, one of my favorite books is Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens. It's a book about racism and one that I wish was on the reading list in every high school. If you haven't read it, I urge you to do so. The title of Allen's book is based on the following quote by Dr. King. "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
Kathy, I will look that up right now. Thanks for the suggestion.
DeleteDebs, I should have added that it is a fiction book. Here's the link to my review of it. I'm just such a fan of Nothing More Dangerous and its message that is so relevant to today, even though the story take place in 1976.
Deletehttp://www.readingroom-readmore.com/2020/02/nothing-more-dangerous-by-allen-eskens.html
I agree with the Reds and readers that Dr. King's words resonate now more than ever.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I was born and raised in a diverse, multicultural city such as Toronto, racism rears its ugly heads more often that we would like. I stood out as the sole Asian in my class throughout primary school since we lived in a Jewish neighbourhood. And it was a culture shock for me when I worked in the (primarily black) Jane-Finch neighbourhood of Toronto one summer as a teenager.
When the Black Lives Matter movement started last year, it also resonated in Toronto and Ottawa. Unfortunately, there had been several deadly encounters between the police and members of both the black and indigeneous communities last spring.
The pandemic has also clearly shown how marginalized communities have been disproportionately affected in terms of rates of infection and job losses/economic hardship. Racist incidents against Asians in Canada have gone up so dramatically in some Canadian cities that some are afraid to go out and become victims of these unprovoked racial slurs and attacks.
Sadly, there is much more work to be done in the US, Canada and around the world for us to live in a more tolerant, equitable society.
Thank you for that beautiful performance, Debs, and all those true words, Reds.
ReplyDeleteI'm also living afraid, but not today. Today I'm living with hope. I don't have any concrete volunteerism planned, but I will do a loving kindness meditation. And I'm SO excited for Wednesday. I already have a special Delaware/Jamaica/India dinner planned!
I LOVE the concept of a Delaware/Jamaica/India dinner in celebration! Kudos!
DeleteI love that idea, too, Edith. I'd love to do something special to mark the day beside watch it on TV. January 20th is also a good friend's birthday, and in "before" times I'm sure several of us would be gathering for a double celebration.
DeleteDebs, thank you for the thought provoking opening this morning. I was at UCONN, and remember that day and how the news affected our campus. Martin Luther King was a hero to most of us (Northeast). He had a personal history in Connecticut, coming here as a teen. One of the rabbis in West Hartford, Stanley Kessler had marched with him several times. People were upset. Angry. Sad.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a favorite quote, but I should. His life was a gift.
Dr. King's death should have such a moment of shock for us all. His life was indeed a gift, and what a treasure and a memory it must have been to have marched with him.
DeleteWhat resonates most with me is his "I Have A Dream" speech. Someday, we'll have the freedom. We make strides, and then backslide, but we have to keep on moving forward.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post this morning, Deb. In 1968 I was a sophomore in high school. I remember feeling disbelief, and horror at the crime. When I think of those times, I remember Dr. King's I Have a Dream speech and how it resonated. Dare we think there are glimmers now that the dream is finally coming true? I wonder what he would have thought of current events. Proud of Kamala, I'm sure, but also wondering what took so long.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Kait. I think we must have discussed it in school, but our high school in 1968 was still pretty segregated, so maybe we didn't. It's funny that I remember Kennedy's assassination five years earlier so vividly, but I was home from school that day and saw it happen on TV. That was such a horrible shock, too.
DeleteI was living in Texas when Dr. King was murdered, and I'll never forget the words of Governor John Connally, an elected Democrat who became a Republican Senator with all the associated baggage.
ReplyDelete"Gov. John B. Connally Jr. of Texas, victim of a sniper’s bullet with President John F. Kennedy, said Dr. King “contributed much to the chaos and turbulence in this country, but he did not deserve this fate."
Connally was widely and rightfully criticized for this, but his underlying racist self just couldn't stay buried. Am thinking how odd this is the only thing I've taken away from the murder.
Ann, I think that was pretty much what my parents thought, too. They were staunch Texas Republicans.
DeleteThe biggest difference between then and now is the availability, and the prevalence, of so many high-powered weapons and ammunition. No one had arsenals then except deep in the hills or the mountains or other isolated areas, and even then the guns they had were not capable of accurately hitting a target a quarter mile away, or more. Then, overt racism was tamped down by "polite society"; KKK members were hooded to avoid public censure and embarrassment. Now they don't even have the grace to be embarrassed. In the '60s, entire communications systems did not exist solely to inflame people who already had a tendency towards prejudice, and who had massive chips on their shoulders to begin with.
ReplyDeleteMy most fervent wish is for human beings to just leave one another alone, and let each other live our own best lives without interference.
In 1964 I heard a song, sung by a convent choir of postulants, that resonated so strongly: "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me." That's the only way we will ever "overcome", by every individual striving to bring love and quiet to the world.
I love that song, Karen.
DeleteYou made so many good points this morning Karen. Except, the war in Viet Nam meant weaponry had 'modernized'. The M21 was accurate up to 750 yards. As I recall, once the military manufactured these killer machines, the criminal element had them as well. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we hairless apes did learn to socialize without threats and violence?
DeleteKaren, for the past 44 weeks a group in my neighborhood has been gathering every Sunday in a distanced manner in the park for a non-denominational prayer service. Since my husband and I are lifelong choir singers, we usually sing at the gathering. We just sang that song last week.
DeleteCoralee, that's true, but individuals didn't own them, or not with dozens of them in their possession.
DeleteI mourn for our humanity, some days.
It is a wonderful song, with a hopeful sentiment for these times. I'm glad to know it's still being sung, Susan!
All such good points, Karen, and things I have been contemplating. I've never heard the song but will now look it up.
DeleteHere's a good version, Debs.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgL1v8FZaNM
I do believe MLK would have been very proud about Kamala, while wondering what took so long, as sometime said. And yes, I think he would be very disheartened about all of our very recent and not so recent history in this country. But his dream lives on and we can each do a part to make that dream a reality.
ReplyDeleteDid you see the Ruby Bridges interview on The Today Show this morning? She has continued the work she started as a six year old child, integrating an all white elementary school. Brave parents, brave little girl.
DeleteMy thoughts are a jumble of hope and despair, faith and fear. I love pretty much all the quotes mentioned so far, but have no specific favorite of my own. I so hope, and want to believe, that the new administration will begin a transition to a time of healing, a time when most of the white citizenry becomes actively anti-racist, and systemic wrongs begin to be righted. Yet I am fearful, for the kinds of reasons others have already mentioned: the fractious media, social and otherwise; the wide availability of highly effective weapons; the fact that the very concepts of truth and facts has become tenuous in our society. I fall back on my faith to help me through and guide my actions.
ReplyDeleteI also want to mention to Jenn that one of the highpoints of my college career was getting to interview Shirley Chisholm when I was editor of the college newspaper and she came to speak on campus. I'd love to say I did a good job, but the honest truth is that I was such a fangirl I could barely speak coherently, let alone ask insightful questions.
Wonderful memory, Susan!
DeleteHow wonderful, Susan!
DeleteI was 22 years old. I marched in my first protest march after his assassination. I just googled some of his quotes. This one speaks to our times, doesn't it? “Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”
ReplyDeleteWe need to take compassionate action along with thinking. Isn't time to really learn to listen?
Coralee, there was a wonderful opinion piece in the Dallas Morning News the other day by a high school English teacher in Odessa (west Texas.) He said we've forgotten how to listen, and to think. It's so true. Where have we failed that people with at least some education are unable to think critically, and don't even understand things that should be learned in every high school civics class?
DeleteFYI, the book MISREMEMBERING DR. KING by Jennifer J. Yanco is an excellent look into his legacy. He fought for much more than racial civil rights. Jennifer has been working for a couple of decades educating people about racism with her White People Challenging Racism workshops. (Full disclosure: she also happens to be my best friend of over forty years.)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.amazon.com/Misremembering-Dr-King-Revisiting-Legacy/dp/0253014166/
Thank you, Edith! Looking that up now, too!
DeleteI was a freshman in high school in Nashville. Some of our choir members had gone to Memphis that week to sing in a statewide concert. I remember being shocked when the news broke, and then scared for my classmates when the riots started.
ReplyDeleteThere are 2 quotes that I love: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," and "The moral arc of the universe is long but it beds toward justice." The first helps me keep my eyes open, and the second gives me hope, even if it seems like things will never change.
I've thought about both of those often in the last few years. I certainly hope that the second quote is prophetic.
DeleteThere's a wonderful article (and podcast) in today's New York Times about the young Black policeman who saved Dr. King's life when he was stabbed in the chest during a book signing (!) in a department store in Harlem in 1958. Thanks to the young man's calm and quick thinking, Dr. King was with us for another ten years (covering, just to name a few accomplishments,the lunch-counter sit-ins, the march on Selma, and the “I Have a Dream” speech) before he was finally and terribly brought down by an assassin's bullet on April 4, 1968, in Memphis. The link to the story is (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/13/nyregion/martin-luther-king-stabbed-harlem.html?action=click&module=Editors%20Picks&pgtype=Homepageabout)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy. I haven't looked at the Times yet this morning but will do so!
DeleteThis is worth reading, I can't chose just one quote:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cnn.com/2021/01/18/us/martin-luther-king-words-inspiring-activists/index.html
CELIA: Thanks for providing this link to these inspiring quotes. I was only 2 years ago when Dr. King was assassinated so I have no memory of the event. And our Canadian history classes did not focus much on 20th century US history (i.e. nothing after WWII) so anything I learned about Dr. King was in my adulthood.
DeleteThere is a short film made a few years ago by a long time anti-bigotry organization called the Anti-Defamation League. To the tune of the Beatles "Imagine" it is the news stories never happened, honors never received, obituaries never written...because hate murdered great leaders and ordinary people. It starts with a news story about MLk at 84, still leading for justice. Impossible to watch and not cry. https://www.youtube.com
ReplyDelete/watch?v=3KyvlMJefR4
That gives me chills, Triss.
DeleteI often turn to Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." It is 20 type-written, double-spaced pages long, but it is a powerful explanation of the civil rights movement, and a strong condemnation of the white church elders of the day in their refusal to champion the moral choice of equal rights and freedom over the convenient choice of upholding the racist status quo.
ReplyDeleteDr. King wrote: We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.
If you need any further explanation of this past year's Black Lives Matter protests, you need only read the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." It's all in there. Not much has changed. You can find a pdf of the entire letter here: http://okra.stanford.edu/transcription/document_images/undecided/630416-019.pdf
I was a little kid in the 1960s, and my parents were news junkies. I vividly remember both Kennedys and the King assassination. In fact, I grew up believing--in the way kids take the world they see as normal--that assassination was the way we, as a society, dealt with people who spoke unpopular truths. I also assumed that protest marches and riots were part of the public conversation. It wasn't until much later that I began to realize there were actual systems in place to effect social change, We just didn't use them. Is it any wonder I'm a cynic?
I do, however, look forward to Wednesday's peaceful transfer of power. And, although I do celebrate Kamala Harris' glass-ceiling-breaking ascent to the Vice Presidency, I'm much more heartened by the fact that a lot of people are focusing elsewhere because of course she's going to be the Vice President. Why wouldn't she be? She's an intelligent, capable person with the experience and the skills to get stuff done. We need more like her, and we need to get over the notion that it's strange to see women of any ethnic background in a seat of power. I hope I never see another presidential contest without a woman in the mix somewhere. It's time. It's past time. Onward!
Gigi, I read the entire letter this weekend, too. It's so powerful, and deserves to read in its entirety. And I totally agree about Kamala!
DeleteOne thing this past year's protests and violence have shown us is that we're much, much further from Dr. King's vision than most of us who are comfortable white liberals thought. Which is a good thing. You can't fight against an injustice if you don't know it's there - or of you're chosen to ignore it.
ReplyDelete"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
ReplyDeleteI'm late today, but it's never too late to acknowledge the greatness and goodness of MLK. A man to honour, more than ever, today and this week...
ReplyDeleteWatching the civil rights movement on television from here in California was life changing. I wish all school children would listen to the power and cadence of Dr. King's speeches. On a different note, would one of you Reds be sure Deborah Crombie sees today's Los Angeles Times appreciation of Mrs Fred Rogers by Amy Kaufman? Confined alone to her apartment during the pandemic, Mrs. Rogers read Deborah Crombie's books. What a gift to her, as have all your books been to us. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte, thank you! I will look for it now!
DeleteWonderful comments, everyone! Well said.
ReplyDeleteRight now it is really hard for me to write what my thoughts are except that my thoughts are very similar to yours. My thoughts are all over the map with my ongoing recovery, with what happened on the 6th, what Martin Luther King Junior meant to us, my reading for different book club discussions this month AND my writing (currently writing my first novel).
Diana
It does seem very timely this week. Here's looking to a brighter future for everyone.
ReplyDelete