On Dr. King’s Birthday…
Today in the U.S. and many places around the globe we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
This year’s celebration is marked by a cloud of anger, fear and uncertainty hanging over the coming Presidency of Donald J. Trump, who will be inaugurated in four days.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Heeding those words, Representative John Lewis — the venerable and iconic civil rights legend who nearly lost his life in the famous 1961 voting rights march with Dr. King in Selma, Alabama — spoke up.
ON FRIDAY … in an interview with NBC News, Representative Lewis said he does not believe Donald Trump is a “legitimate president”, citing Russian interference in last year’s election.
Asked whether he would try to forge a relationship with the president-elect, Lewis said that he believes in forgiveness, but added, “it’s going to be very difficult. I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president.”
“I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected. And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton,” Lewis told NBC News. You can see the interview below.
ON SATURDAY … The incoming President fired back at Lewis in a pair of tweets Saturday morning, saying that the long-serving Georgia Congressman should “spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results.”
THEN … Within hours the fundraisers at the Democratic National Committee blasted out an e-mail appeal under Lewis’ signature. The appeal: “Today, Donald Trump attacked me on Twitter. He said that I’m ‘all talk’ and ‘no action.’ [NAME], I’ve been beaten bloody, tear-gassed, fighting for what’s right for America. I’ve marched at Selma with Dr. King. Sometimes that’s what it takes to move our country in the right direction. We refuse to stop now. We’re not done fighting for progress. We’re ready for the next four years. Are you with us? Join me and chip in whatever you can today to help Democrats stand up to injustice.”
I’ll leave it to Agitator readers to judge the timing, tone and taste of the appeal. (You can view the entire appeal here.)
ON SUNDAY MORNING … the Trump team announced that the President-elect would visit the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in observance of Martin Luther King Day,
Ironically, Representative Lewis was the sponsor of congressional legislation establishing the museum, worked for 15 years to see it built and portions of his civil rights activism are featured in the museum.
BUT NOW … as I sit down to write, the media was reporting that the visit was removed from President-elect Trump’s calendar “due to scheduling issues”.
Amidst all this turmoil we’d all do well to remember these words from Dr. King:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
Roger
5 responses to “On Dr. King’s Birthday…”
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Roger,
Here’s a fantastic response for today’s post in The Agitator :Why John Lewis’ boycott of the inauguration is a mistake, and why we should not follow his lead”
1. Safety in numbers. A brown face automatically amounts to protest in many spaces, and that’ll be doubly true at the inauguration. Whether you’re holding a sign or not, if you’re brown your presence will be seen as an unwelcome challenge to some. Abandon the inauguration and we’re abandoning minorities and others who might need us for reassurance that they’re not alone.
2. Don’t skip the first day of class. Being present will be a crucial part of how we deliver a strong message of solidarity over the next four years. We’ll need to be present at the polls, present at the rallies, present in our schools, present in our workplaces and present in the media. So, be present. The world is watching.
3. We shouldn’t delay a movement because one man got insulted, no matter how admirable that one man’s record of advocacy and service might be. This is bigger than one person, and this is bigger than any one of us.
4. Representative Lewis has concerns about how the Russians interfered in our election. So should we. But even if Trump didn’t earn the office on his own, how likely is it that we’ll be able to deprive him of it? He’s going to be the president whether we like it or not. Boycotting the inauguration will change nothing.
I’ll be out there on January 20. I hope to meet as many of you there as possible.
http://www.abernathymagazine.com
Thank you Roger! I’m with you!
Thank you for featuring my fav MLK quote (which is so apt in these times):
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that really matter.”
Gail
We have a long hard road ahead of us here in North Carolina. Our long national nightmare is beginning . . .
Thank you for this, Roger. With you as well.
“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
MLK
We’re not talking about any election here. We’re talking about a narcissistic monster.
As someone who lives in John Lewis’s “horrible” and “crime-ridden” I can assure you that Trump has no idea what he’s talking about. But, it’s created some very fun memes and social media posts around here.
As he communicated very clearly throughout his campaign, Trump has decided all African Americans live in crime-ridden communities that are falling apart. He claims to be a champion of working people and the middle class but seems to know little about people of color who fall in these categories. Maybe he’ll shift some energy away from denigrating women and tweeting about celebrities to learning about more of the people he’s been elected to represent & lead.