By Dr. Clanton C. W. Dawson, President of African American Clergy Coalition of Mid-Missouri
On Monday,
Americans gathered in religious sanctuaries and civic centers throughout this
democratic society to celebrate the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. The most popular of Dr. King’s speech, the “I Have a Dream” speech was
recited by thousands, and heard by millions.
The context
of the speech was the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Dr.
King called the gathering of justice seekers at the Lincoln Memorial,” the
greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” There was
something about that day in Washington DC that made the dream litany Dr. King
employed the perfect articulation of the aspirations and hopes of millions
whose dreams had long been deferred. The oratory from that short, Southern,
educated, black preacher, and dreamer of a beloved community was a perfect
proclamation of the faith and hope of an imperfect people. On that day, the
dreamer captivated all of us: whether assembled with the other 250,000 dreamers
at the Lincoln Memorial; or, those drawn together around school lunch tables
listening on the radio; or, watching the phenomenon on Black and White
televisions huddled with family and friends, we were filled with pride and
wonder. That day we dared to dream a dream rooted in the American dream, and a
faith born of struggle: that one day life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness would be a reality for all Americans. Many believed that the March
and the Dream speech triggered the implementation of the Civil Rights Act and
The Voting Rights Act of 1964. What we know is that truly on that day, we shared
a dream.
Fifty years
later ‘the Dream’ is under attack and on the verge of becoming a nightmare. The
Dream speech focused on economic fairness, social justice, and civil rights. Fifty
years later, the same issues plague us now. It is undeniable that we have come
a long way in many respects. It is equally true that we are rapidly going
backwards.
There exist forces
that threaten to transform a dream we once shared into a nightmare. The
problems of the underclass continue to multiply astronomically, while the
middle-class has disappeared. The insidious plague of poverty and economic
disparity is rampant in all sectors of this country. The poor are getting
poorer. Underemployment has stymied hope, and the payday loan companies, rent
to own stores, and ‘quick cash’ merchants feast on the underclass worse than the
old time loan-sharks of the forties and fifties.
Black on
Black, Black on Brown, and Brown on Brown violence is still the greatest threat
to the African American community. All
of us are rightly angered by the incidences of the killings of black youth by
the police in Ferguson, New York, Cleveland, Sanford, Columbia, Mo., and other
places across the country. And yet, the most serious threat to the lives of
Black youth in this country is Black on Black crime. Still, in many communities,
if a youth lives to age twenty-five a celebration occurs because that person
has beat the statistical odds---and we know it.
Too many
high school age persons cannot read or write beyond a sixth or seventh grade
level. Often these youth, discouraged and feeling hopeless, drop out of school
and are forced to work dead end jobs, or seek illegal means to survive. Such a
scenario has led to the growth of the prison industrial complexes that are disproportionately
populated by Black and Brown men and women most of whom are poorly educated,
and were either unemployed or underemployed. We are painfully aware that
poverty, poor education, and crime go together: they are the bastard triplets
of this society, birthed by greed and nursed by ignorance. The cycle causes ‘the
dream’ to look like a nightmare.
The very
institutions that in the past stood vigilant and led the way to the promise
land cause us to sigh and moan. Where is the Black Church and why has its
prophetic voice become silent? Is it true that we are more interested in
singing, dancing, and shouting, then being our brothers and our sisters
keepers? Have we gotten so enslaved by white evangelism that we have forgotten
the God of our weary years and the God of our silent tears? In too many
instances the Black Church is so heavenly bound it has become no earthly good.
Seeking “favor” has replaced being faithful, and we would rather ‘get back to
Eden,’ than ‘march to Zion.’ While there are some great churches and clergy
persons holding up the blood stained banner for justice, freedom, and equality
‘on earth as it is in heaven,’ too many in the church are insensitive to the cries
of the broken, bruised, and battered of our society. Instead of being the
agents of transformation, too many clerics are centered on ‘the mega-church
mindset, building buildings we do not need, living lavishly on the offerings of
the poor, and ‘going up yonder anyhow!’ Academia is no better. African American
faculty in white institutions are on the decrease and are constantly urged to
‘not be too black.’ Historic Black Universities and Colleges too often are
drowning in cronyism and so in debt that the faculty end up being underappreciated,
overworked, and under paid, while the huge potential within the African
American student body is not actualized to its full potential. Motivated by
money, too many schools now offer quick online programs urging poor people to
get ‘degrees’ instead of an education. But we know that it is ‘a thirst for an
education’ not the hunger for a degree, says Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune in her
famous Last Will and Testament, that transforms the plight of a people.
No wonder
the rudimentary foundation of the Dream has been lost. Our heroes are ill-mannered
athletes, actors, and entertainers who are paid millions of dollars to build
virtual realities to entertain us, and beautiful slightly-clad young women,
with even less on their minds, who encourage our girls to ‘be a bad bitch’ and aspire
to do something strange for a little piece of change.
We have
unfinished business. We must remember that hope and work cause dreams to become
reality. Some people believed that the dream would happen with the right
legislation, EEOCs, opportunity projects, etc. Some thought that because more
African Americans could live in suburbia, or have corporate positions, or place
their children in private schools, or elect an African American President-we
had overcome. How wrong those who believed that were in their thinking. The
problems that threaten the Dream are too complex for that position. While
legislation can control (to a degree) people’s actions (open housing,
employment and voting laws) it does nothing to change people’s hearts, nor the
systems that perpetuate systemic racism (notice how states –including Missouri-
are attempting to suppress voting rights which most effect African Americans). Too
often MLK Celebrations is a lot of sentimentality that causes us to be warm and
fuzzy, but not productive. Racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia are systemic.
They have to do with power and who wields it. The only change that reflects the
central idea of the dream is systemic change--not emotional babble. The issues
of America can never be reduced to who likes who---it must always be about making
the very systems that control peoples’ lives accessible to all. All of us
should have access to privilege and power-not just the wealthy and the white.
Hope demands
that we continue to work for and hold fast to the Dream. We must address the
material conditions that create the demonic threat to the dream. African Americans—and
Americans as a whole--once believed in committing to a cause greater than self-interested
navel-gazing. We believed and dreamed of
creating the kind of community where a simple gesture like saying, ‘Good
morning’ or helping our neighbors in need defined who we are. Why? Because that is what we do and who we are:
we dream of a better day, and then roll up our sleeves, pray on our knees,
raise our voices of protest, act with the belief that labor will not be in
vain, and then…make it happen. I am still dreaming with my eyes wide open
working toward a day when the dream becomes a reality instead of a nightmare.
