Happy Birthday Dr. King

Here it is 2009, already. It is also the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I can remember, and it seems like it only yesterday, that Black grown-ups all around me were fighting mad because “the man” didn’t want to give “us” a day to honor Dr. King.
Lots of heated debates, tons of racial epithets, (and let me say there weren’t any white folks around so that goes to show they aren’t the only ones who use slurs) and even furious tears.

But alas, the time came for rejoicing and little black kids all over were jamming to Stevie’s version of Happy Birthday. And everybody sang along to Sing Celebrate!

Wow, those times felt so good. A fight had been fought, yet tears and scarred spirits weathered the storm of an almost 20 year fight before a victory. “Now every January on the third Monday, we pay homage to a man who paved the way for freedom, justice…”

Okay let me stop.

For those who don’t know the above lines are the lyrics from the most popular Dr. King celebration song. I was 8 years old when his birthday became a National holiday, 11 years old when that song came out, and I tell you it is amazing to juxtapose that time with today as I have children who are currently in the same age group as I was then.

Imagine. That was the same time a Republican was at the helm of our Nation. It was also the same time when houses were being boarded up across our country in cities like the Bronx in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Philly and Compton where families struggled to keep their heads above water in an economy that only fed a laughable war on drugs and government-sponsored dealings with Iran-Contra and others whose activities devastated foreign lands while Americans sat at home watching Love Boat, Dynasty, and Love Connection barely noticing the circumstances of those overseas. But we held out….we were pushed up against the wall and the victory of honoring the man who gave us the hope that one day all men would be treated fairly based on the content of their character versus the pigmentation of their skin, well it made us feel like we could come off the wall and start fighting back again.

Next thing you know, a black man became the first to be elected as the Mayor of Chicago, one of the most segregated cities in the country. Ironically, it was a city that Dr. King himself had come to live as he fought against housing discrimination.

And the train never stopped moving towards the station of freedom.

Then fast-forward some 20 years later. Is not like a mirror being held up to the face of time? Who is our President? What does our economy look like? What illegal government-sponsored evil is being played out right this moment as I type this? What is the most visible condition of our economic distress…is it not foreclosed property?
Is our media attempting to make us entertain ourselves out of our tragic and sobering reality?

Yet, there has been this feeling of hope in the air. There has been victories coming that make us FEEL that something in the wind is blowing in the direction of change. I won’t give credit to any one man, but I will say as Dr. King did many decades ago, that this Nation has a date with destiny and there is a movement that no man can stop.
People can sense a fighting spirit that unites every citizen, regardless of color, who long for change…who know the purpose of humanity.

And I don’t know about any of you, but I am extremely happy in my spirit. I feel we are not at our destination, but nothing feels better than knowing where your journey began, and acknowledging you have somewhere to go forward to. To make an analogy, just think. When most people are asked what was their most treasured time in life, many (of course not all) but many say what? When they were children…Why? Because you knew where your home and family were. You could go outside and play dream about what you would be when you grew up, you weren’t afraid to take an adventure, and always you could check in, but off you’d go again. You felt free.

I believe America is in its second childhood and we have a chance to get it right. Black America is in its moment. It is a moment that can empower all of us. It is a moment that can unite us all in the same tenets that Dr. King dreamed of. At the end of the day, we are all the same, we all have the exact same basic desires, to be free to express ourselves, to be treated fairly, to earn our way, to be educated and allowed access…we all want Constitutional rights and to know that riding a subway train will not get you handcuffed and shot in the back like Oscar Grant was on the BART system in Oakland and so many other men of color in ghettos around this Nation.

I reflect today and feel so proud of who I am and the heritage I come from.
I sat tonight and watched as the Chicago Defender honored 51 Black men (including my CEO, Byron V. Garrett) as Men of Excellence because they “care more than others think is safe; dream more than others think is practical; and expect more than others think is possible.”

All day today it has been resonating with me how history re-creates itself until we get the lesson, but even more during this event I took it all in that the Chicago Defender…the paper that freed twice as many sharecroppers as Harriet Tubman did slaves and the paper that has been the pulse of the black community forever, was showing us what Black excellence looks like and how it strides.

I was tickled sitting there and seeing so many little boys emerge from matured mens’ bodies. You could see these men were just as proud as if they had gotten honor roll or class valedictorian in high school in front of their mommas. They had nervous energy and immense pride. It was a sight to see. But it took me to another place as well.

Seeing these men who spanned generations and were from every walk of life and every imaginable background scope, I recalled just earlier today I saw a post from a very well-respected Chicago journalist who is searching for some wealthy black people who could share what it feels like to be in the talented tenth.
I am overjoyed that because of Dr, King and those that dare to believe in better tomorrows for the present and future generations, that wealth and is not their highest honor and that their contributions exceed the limits of the talented tenth.

Happy Birthday Dr. King!!!


Please check out the video...classic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGKW3O6EpMo