Both of these men are known for leading movements that neither of them sought to lead. MLK was just a budding preacher at Ebenezer Baptist Church when the Bus Boycott began in Birmingham, Alabama. It was this boycott that brought the injustices to Blacks in the south to the national stage (you'd think the Civil War and Reconstruction, might have been a pretty big clue, but I digress) and MLK front and center as figure head of the Civil Rights Movement. Barack Obama was a junior senator from Illinois, when Sen. Harry Reid brought Barack into his office and told still young senator that he thought he should run for President and could win. Obama, as we now know, would go on to unify a country (shattered by financial ruin, unending war, fear of terrorism and eroding confidence in its leaders) as well as an international community increasingly disenchanted with an arrogant nation.
Both of these men are also portrayed as examples of the best the African-American race has to offer as well as proof of progress the United States has made in achieving racial equity. The fact that these two men are not seen as the potential of any educated, motivated, supported and hard-working African-American who is given a chance is proof positive of how little African-Americans think of themselves and the rest of the nation thinks of African-Americans. The fact that people can look at the singular victories of MLK being given a national holiday and Barack Obama being elected as President as evidence that "race doesn't matter any more" only serves to prove how little we understand the enormity of the work yet to be done.
As I type these words, there are thousands of marches, panel discussions, festivals and other various celebrations being held across this nation in honor of Dr. King. In the homes of many proud African-Americans (including many that I know personally) exist commemorative shirts, calendars, bobble-heads, playing cards, etc in honor of Barack's historic victory.
Unfortunately, in many measurements of success (high school/college graduation rates, average income per household, average salary), African-Americans still rank near the bottom and have actually fallen behind races that existed in negligible numbers at the time the Civil Rights Movement began, while in most measurements of failure (incarceration rates, murder rates, infant mortality rates, high school dropout rates, obesity rates) African-Americans still rank near the top.
Now, there are many factors that contribute to these disturbing realities and some very smart people (Cornell West, Henry Louis Gates, The Center for Information & Research On Civic Learning and Engagement - CIRCLE, to name a few) have written and reported on this issue ad nauseam, but that's another point for another post. The point I'm making is that the success of a race, nation or movement cannot be wrapped up in the histories of two people. While MLK and President Obama can absolutely be held in the highest regard of dreams achieved, potential realized, and hope of progress to come, it cannot stop there.
In order for the dream of a truly progressive society that judges people (to use the words of MLK) "...not based on the color of their skin, but on the content of their character", we must use the successes of these two men as a call to arms and not singular trumpets of victory. The consequence of our complacency could darken the light shone on our nation by these two men until they become distant stars we only read about in dusty forgotten books.
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