In observance of the national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., this generation has decided to observe through cancelation. Schools, banks and government buildings all across the country have closed down, allowing students and employees to reflect on what King means to this nation. Moreover, students and employees whose institutions do not observe the holiday usually take the day off in protest. Among them was my college humanities professor. As she reviewed her course schedule, she told us that there would be no class on the following week, because we needed to, “Remember the dream”. I sincerely hope that those who advocate for this observance do far more than simply stay home to catch up on well-needed rest. Rather, we should do as my professor suggests and “remember the dream”. We can do this through observance, reflection and service.
The worst thing a person can do on days like this is stay home. It is an insult to both our struggle and our hope. This day not only commemorates a man, but it honors the generation that stood with such a man. It honors our teachers, who in younger years sat at lunch counters only to be dehumanized. It honors our pastors, who marched with King, only to be greeted by water hoses and dogs. It honors, most importantly, those we never met: they hung from trees and were pulled out of rivers. They were killed in freedom rides and gunned down like animals. They paid the price of freedom with their lives and should be honored with living efforts. The King Holiday commemorates a time when staying at home was no option. Therefore, let this holiday be a day where something is done in a deliberate act of observance. Attend a service, read an article, watch a documentary, pass our history down to another generation. Whatever you do, do not regard this as a meaningless vacation. I spent my younger years in a white school that neither observed the holiday nor taught black history. This presented my parents with the task of teaching us themselves. They were my black history scholars. They taught me about a proud history of people, who were made in the Image of God, and who demanded the right to walk in the dignity and excellence of that image. We owe it to the gravity of that history not to take days like this lightly.
Of course, empty nostalgic observance is pointless. It must be met with deep reflection on the present state of our people. This involves an honest assessment of how the dream has is being realized. Such a reflection should also involve a serious analysis on how the struggle should continue. Historically, our struggle finds its roots in the black church, specifically because injustice is objectively evil from God’s perspective. And God put His words in profound voices to express this reality. This conviction was deeply imbedded in the heart of the prophetic movement of King and the Civil Rights movement. It started with discrimination in public accommodations, expanding to voting rights then to war and poverty. Four decades later, these seem to be the foundational pillars that the Civil Rights movement still builds upon. With this structure in mind, people have been marching and fighting, primarily for the legislative equality of the poor and marginalized. However, there has been a recent attempt to expand our foundation, politicize our convictions and commercialize our struggle. Our foundation is expanded through attempts to liken the Civil Rights struggle with the gay agenda. Our convictions are politicized through attempts to polarize the black vote, pushing us to the left and painting us blue. Our struggle is commercialized, because our leaders no longer speak for us, but to us, backed by corporate money and mass media. One only needs to watch MSNBC’s Politics Nation for a clear example. So, when we pause and reflect on the gravity and the direction of the movement, we can find a clear path back to authenticity and relevance.
Finally, sincere observance and reflection can only be actualized through service. Let this holiday be a day of service. Do something that will have a lasting impression and will impact the life of someone else. Dr. King did not have to go to Chicago or Memphis and engage poverty in such a way. He could have done like present-day scholar-preachers who lead lectures and speak at expensive banquets on days like this. Like them, he could have found a job at a prestigious church or an ivy-league school. From positions of comfort, he could have been a tireless critic and advocate for change, but instead he decided to be an active servant. When he came to Chicago, he stayed in the slums, so as to live in solidarity with those he fought for. He had the heart of a servant and it cost him both luxury and life. You may think his heart of service came from his years studying Gandhi, or the theologians at Boston University. However, service of this magnitude can only come from the living God, who showed us true service in Jesus Christ. Let the King Holiday remind us all, that our greatest accomplishments in life will not come from successful jobs or grand fortunes, rather from a life that carries a cross all the way to the end.
Samuel J. Doyle
