Every year around this time we all become lovers of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We play his speeches, watch videos of him, march in parades honoring his name and have conversations surrounding the history of his legacy.
Dr. King was the victim of an assassin’s bullet on April 4th, 1968 on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He died as he lived, helping those in need. He was in Memphis supporting the rights of black sanitation workers fight for better treatment and higher wages.
We are now 44 years removed from that tragic day and in some ways no better because of it. Dr. King fought for the civil rights of African-Americans but he was also a revolutionary and radical figure. Over the years Dr. King’s image has been softened to that of a peaceful rebel. He did not believe in or practice violence but he was by no means a man who was afraid to rattle the fence.
The same cannot be said for President Barack Obama. While many believe that Dr. King would celebrate in the election of this nation’s first African-American man to occupy the White House he would also protest him.
Before Dr. King’s assassination he was one of the country’s most reviled figures as his approval rating dipped below 30 percent. He showed vehement dissent for the Vietnam War and was in the middle of planning The Poor People’s campaign in Washington D.C.
Exactly a year before his death Dr. King delivered an expressive dialogue regarding his stance on America’s role in Vietnam. He took a moral stance against the war and had a chief concern with how the poor and afflicted were being used as instruments of destruction.
“We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem.”
The same can be said for President Obama. While he is not the originator of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan he did continue their cause. Obama continued to send young men and women overseas to liberate the people of a different land when so many of us here are still facing the harsh realities of high unemployment and lack of economic opportunities.
King went on to give many reasons as to why he was against such a war but it came down to morality. He could not support a mission that, as he put it, “added cynicism to the process of death.”
While Dr. King was against the procedure of war he would also stand against Obama’s recent signing of the Defense Authorization Act. In short this bill allows for the indefinite detention of Americans suspected of terrorism. Obama issued a burly statement regarding the act, stating that his administration would not authorize the detention of American’s without trial and that he had reservations and concerns before signing it. But for many American’s, having a reservation isn’t taking it far enough.
If Dr. King was a supporter of the basic civil rights for all human beings he would surely be against President Obama’s support of this new law. He would also rally against the House and Senate Republicans who crafted this piece of legislation as well.
So as we pause this weekend to take a minute to remember the man, his words and his life let us also reflect on his true nature. Dr. King was a rebel, a revolutionary and a radical. Any man who has multiple attempts made on his life for the cause that he’s fighting for is not to be seen in tranquility.
Dr. King would march against the wrongs of this nation and its politicians no matter what party affiliation they may have. President Obama has done a lot of good for this country but he’s also made more than a few questionable decisions. As much as Martin Luther King Jr. would love Mr. Obama as a person he would not like the politician.
He would point out Obama’s failure to do more for the poor and working class as well as students and the rights of the LGBT community. Dr. King would voice his displeasure with him as well as all politicians who are against progress such as Florida Governor Rick Scott, former President George W. Bush and all Republican Congressmen and women who tried to assail the extension of unemployment benefits for jobless Americans.
President Obama would not be the only politician on the receiving end of Dr. King’s ire but he would be at the top of the list.
Let us take up the cause of Dr. King by questioning and protesting all who are against true progress. Party affiliation has diluted the true purpose of our cause to make sure that our nation, our communities and our cities are represented by the right people.
For those who stand against us in House and Senate chambers, but position themselves for our cause in our community and union meetings, it is time that we take a stand against them.
As Dr. King lived his life we must do the same with ours. Be the revolutionary, the radical and the rebel for the good our own communities.
[…] two years ago, I sat down to place finger to key to talk about how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would stand against President Obama’s policies. King was an advocate for the plight of the poor and talked about why […]