B140. A White People Challenge

This MLK weekend let’s do something. All of us white folks. Something.

What if we see this weekend, not primarily as a celebration of a great man who had a dream, but as a reminder and an opportunity to realize his dream, to do what we can to make our world a kinder place for all God’s children, or maybe just to open ourselves to a bit more understanding of racism from a not-white perspective? Will you join me?

What to do:

Attend a local MLK event. Check your newspaper for parades, community breakfasts, church events, etc.

Invite a black friend for lunch or coffee. Maybe in your own home. Maybe several friends, black and white.

Watch a movie or documentary. With your family. With friends. Alone. Check one out from the public library, or stream on-line. A few good ones:
            Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Historical Perspective (2002)
            American Experience: Freedom Riders (2011)
            Ruby Bridges (1998, view free here)
            Hidden Figures (2016)
            The Jackie Robinson Story (2013)
            Captive Heart: The James Mink Story (1996)         
            Selma (2014)
            Roots ( miniseries 1977)
            The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1973)
            The Untold Story of Emmett Till (2005)
            Four Little Girls (1997)
            The Help (2011)
            King (1978)
            MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1 hour video reading) 

Read a book or one of MLK’s speeches, or listen to one as you travel. A few good choices:
            America’s Original Sin (Jim Wallis, 2016)
            The Underground Railroad (Colson Whitehead, 2016, fiction)
            Small Great Things (Jodi Picoult, 2016, fiction)
            The Class of ’65 (Jim Auchmutey, 2015)
            Twelve Years a Slave (Solomon Northup, 1853)
            Freeman (Leonard Pitts Jr., 2012, fiction)
            To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee, 1960, fiction)
            Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Frederick Douglass, 1845)
            The Help (Kathryn Stockett, 2009)
            MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech (transcript and 18 min. audio) 

Visit a Civil Rights Museum or another black history site. A few good ones:
            Center for Civil & Human Rights, Atlanta GA
            MLK National Historic Site, Atlanta GA
            The International Civil Rights Center & Museum, Greensboro NC
            National Museum of African American History Culture, Washington DC
            MLK Jr. Memorial, Washington DC

Donate to your local NAACP, or a local black church or university.

Write a Letter to the Editor or write a blog. Maybe about one of the above experiences, or anything else that might make a difference.

Just do something. And if you want to extend your impact on the world, include more white people. Invite your book club to read the book. Invite friends or family members on your museum trip or to the MLK parade. Introduce your black and white friends to each other.


And then share on social media what you did. Why? Because it takes us all to make a movement. Our posts can motivate others to want to be a part, and our posts can show our black sisters and brothers that we are walking beside them as best we know how; and with our small efforts this year, we will understand a little better next year, and the next and the next.

"In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." (MLK)

" . . .one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all"  (the Pledge of Allegiance to the US Flag)

Photos:

Top: Inside Ebenezer Baptsit Church where MLK Sr. was pastor during MLK Jr's childhood, Atlanta GA
Mid-blog: MLK's childhood home where he was born, Atlanta GA
Below left: MLK Memorial in Washington DC

Below right: MLK's burial site in Atlanta GA

B18. A Dream Set in Stone

August 28, 1963 some 250,000 civil rights advocates marched on Washington DC for jobs and freedom.  It was during this march that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial.

(photo property of Wikipedia)

I was not quite 21 months old, probably not doing a lot of marching yet, nor with any awareness of any civil unrest in the world.

August 28, 2011, however, 48 years later, I will be watching with great excitement as the Martin Luther King Memorial is dedicated not far from that same spot.  As a proud founding sponsor of the project, I've been watching with excitement for a few years.

Why?  Because MLK had a dream that every oppressed American has shared throughout history, and he believed in it so much that he courageously devoted his life to making it come true, a dream that one day we would all work and play together without regard to the color of our skin.  He died for his dream, without ever seeing it fulfilled; and although we are much closer today than we were 48 years ago, and the 2008 presidential election proved that the dream is possible, racism and oppression are still alive and flourishing.  White supremacist groups speckle the map, offensive flags and hateful bumperstickers adorn our properties, and in Surry County, NC, white citizens choose daily to eat in an establishment that closes its doors to blacks and hispanics.  This brings grief to my soul.  There is no food that good.  None.

I won't get to be in DC Sunday for the monument dedication.  I'll be viewing it through the media's eyes. But last month I was fortunate to sneak a peak while the work was still being completed.  Enjoy these in-progress photos from that visit:

The Stone of Hope, hewn from the Mountain of Despair

MLK's statue overlooks this aquatic view of the Jefferson Memorial

Restricted - Under Construction

Visual reminders that each of us owns the power to change the world, to live together peaceably despite our diversity.  I too am a dreamer . . .

Note:  Due to Hurricane Irene, the dedication was postponed for a later date.