For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Reclaiming/Redefining Our Symbols

Yesterday afternoon I was driving south on I-95 through downtown Jacksonville, and my two children pointed out a billboard to my left that read simply, “Martin Luther King was a Republican.” Underneath that statement, the billboard listed the sponsor as an association for black Republicans.

Of course my children had questions. To them the Republican Party is antithetical to all that Martin Luther King, Jr. stood for, fought for, and represented. In a word, the Republican Party seems to fly in the face of all that they believed Dr. King symbolized.

And symbols are powerful things indeed. As human beings often we often reduce the broad sentiments, the ethos, the purpose of a group of people to a symbol. And each time we confront this symbol, the group’s narrative necessarily comes to mind.

Think of the Statue of Liberty standing in New York harbor. Think of the American flag or the United States Constitution. Both have become symbols of this nation. Alternately, think of the peace sign or the upraised, clenched black fist. Both have become symbols of a movement.

But the complicated truth about symbols is that symbols are imbued with a certain meaning that can and often does change over time. And further, the meaning of symbols can and does change from person to person, group to group; what one person, one group sees in a symbol, another person or group may see something else. For one person or group, a symbol could be inspirational, while in another person or group, that symbol might evoke absolute terror or wrath.

Additionally, symbols may be appropriated by opposing groups to meet their ends.

Martin Luther King, Jr. has largely become a symbol. However, the meaning of that symbol differs according to race, according to generation, according to political affiliation. And over forty years after his death, the narrative of his life and the meaning thereof has been revisited and revised innumerable times.

Disparate groups have poured over that narrative, extracting this detail and that, all toward the end of whatever purpose they have in mind. And disparate groups have claimed ownership of that symbol. African Americans have jealously and tenaciously attempted to claim the narrative of Martin Luther King, Jr. as uniquely our own. The nation has claimed MLK as a symbol of the possibility this nation has to offer. And the world has claimed MLK in the main as a symbol of the possibilities of peace.

But of course the question then becomes, “What does MLK mean to you?”

The billboard alluded to earlier prompted questions from my children that I was forced to answer. As to MLK’s political affiliation, I honestly do not know. From some of his writings, it becomes clear that King may certainly have been a Republican. In fact, his father was a registered Republican, so it would perhaps be unusual if his son did not follow suit.

However, because of the Democratic Party’s reluctant embrace of the Civil Rights platform, you could perhaps rightly conjecture that King made the migration to the Democratic Party along with the majority of African Americans.

But according to the King Research Institute at Stanford and King years Pulitzer Prize winning chronicler Taylor Branch, King was nonpartisan.

I think the Republican party has attempted to co-opt and appropriate King-as-a-symbol in an effort to appeal to Blacks. Furthermore, ultimately it matters little if King was a Democrat or Republican. But it does matter that King-as-narrative and King-as-symbol be reconciled so as to retain the true meaning of King’s life and work.

Above all, King was an humanitarian; he believed in lending a helping hand to the downtrodden, the destitute, the exploited, to those most bereft of hope. And his message was not one of passive participation and engagement, but of direct and active confrontation of those forces who would seek to grind those perceived lesser members of society underfoot. His method was to challenge the consciousness, to assail the practices of oppression and degradation.

As we take part in this yearly ritual, this yearly celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and works, it becomes incumbent that we protect the meaning thereof. And, additionally, it becomes incumbent that amid the replay of his speeches, amid the parades and public celebration, we allow this meaning to guide us in our everyday lives and praxis. Let us become living billboards, living symbols of the principles he lived and died for.

Freedom through Speech Radio: The Barack Obama Scorecard and Call to Service Show

This has been an interesting week to say the least. At the beginning of the week, “Negro” seemed to be the word in the streets. First of all, the inclusion of “Negro” as a choice in the racial identification categories on the upcoming census set all the Negroes a titter and a Twitter.

But before that conversation could even finish, the revelation that during the 2008 presidential campaign, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid listed then candidate Obama’s not speaking in the “Negro dialect” as one of his major qualifications for office. Well, this just made Negroes giggle and most could even see the truth in Senator Reid’s statement. It even inspired me to translate my favorite Shakespearean sonnet, Sonnet 29—When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes, into the “Negro dialect.”

However, the Republican Party didn’t see the humor in Senator Reid’s remark. And because they just love Negroes so, they trotted out Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele to demand his resignation. I wrote about that here.

However, this argument was not able to get any traction before the news of a catastrophic earthquake devastating Haiti. And the African American community responded tremendously. On Facebook, on Twitter, and through various other mediums, we coalesced to raise a remarkable amount of money in a remarkably short time.

But the question then becomes, what happens when the coverage of the tragedy ceases to dominate the news and moves from the front page to the back page? What will we do then? What will the world do?

Tonight at 8 PM EST on the Blog Talk Radio show I co-host along with OneChele and RiPPa, Freedom through Speech Radio, we will be discussing these issues along with giving a grade to President Obama’s first year as president. Sitting in will be Average Bro from averagebro.com and Thembi Ford from whatwouldthembido.com.

So, stop by, call in, and let your voice be heard. And remember, the most important voice is your voice.

Public Service Advisory: Would the Following People Just Please STFU!

You know what I hate the most, what really chafes my behind? I absolutely abhor people who just won’t shut up. And it seems that the people who make the least sense, those spouting and espousing the most non-sensical BS are the ones who are always doing all the talking.

But usually, I am a laid back, mellow kind of fellow, and the BS doesn’t get to me. I just shake my head and move on. From time to time when the BS gets too deep, however, I will take the time to address it.

And since President Obama’s presidential campaign began in earnest last summer, the BS from the right, and sometimes from the left, has piled up wide and deep. From time to time I have addressed it, especially when it became such that I just could not ignore it.

This week the BS continued unabated, but at this point it has gotten so absolutely foolish, they I feel I must call for a BS timeout. I must call for some people to just STFU and give us all a break for just a minute. So, could the following people please just STFU for the time being:

Michael Steele, you make less and less sense as you go along For the record, I believe that for our political system to work for African Americans we must be represented across the political spectrum. In other words, it does no good for African Americans to commit fully to either party; that is tantamount to putting one’s eggs in one basket. We must make our voices heard from the right and the left.

However, African Americans on the right, and left for that matter, must not commit to just merely regurgitating the political bile you are fed, but instead be committed to truth. And from time to time, Michael Steele has slipped and told the truth, but political exigency has caused him to have eat his words.

Anyway, this week began with Steele demanding the ouster of Senate majority leader Harry Reid because of his remarks that because President Obama was light-skinned and he did not use “the Negro dialect,” he would make a formidable presidential candidate. According to Steele and his cronies on the right, this remark was racist in nature, right up there on par with Trent Lott’s seeming endorsement of a segregationist candidate and platform.

But if Steele was honest with himself and with the rest of us, he would be able to admit the truthfulness of Reid’s statement. What made Reid’s statement so remarkable was his use of antiquated language which proves only that culturally he is quite out of touch.

But to attack Reid but say nothing of the largely racist rhetoric which has become part and parcel of the right’s efforts to regain relevancy decries a certain lack of sincerity. Michael Steele, your own party has little or no respect for you, and as time goes on, you become simply a caricature, a big joke. Do yourself and the rest of the country a favor and just STFU.

Rush Limbaugh is not a racist; he just plays one on TV I had a debate with one of my African American conservative friends concerning whether or not Limbaugh is actually a racist. But does it even matter if he is a racist or not when the racist rhetoric he constantly espouses reaches so many and does little more than reify and concretize the boundaries of race that keep us apart and prevent real progress.?

To tell you the truth, I don’t think he even believes half the bile that issues forth from that vile orifice he calls a mouth, but when you are getting filthy rich from little more than reinforcing the racist views of a handful of ignorant bigots, why not?

But to maintain this racist, bigoted persona even in the face of remarkable human tragedy and suffering is morally despicable. And to go so far as to discourage your viewers from not contributing to the rescue and recovery effort should earn you a special place in hell.

However, I am most disappointed that no one from the right, no one from the party that claims to represent morality and Christian values even bothered to come out against you. So, Rush, until you assume your proper place amid the fire and brimstone of hell, I wish you would just give us all a break and just STFU!

What Would Jesus Do (WWJD), Pat Robertson? Speaking of Christian values, what values were on display when 700 Club founder and pastor Pat Robertson blamed Haiti’s misfortune on a “pact with the devil” the country made hundreds of years ago so that it might throw off the shackles of slavery and gain its independence from France?

When I heard this clip, what I actually interpreted Robertson’s remarks to mean is that “those Negroes had the unctuous audacity to insist on being free and then to take their freedom by force, and they are now paying the price for their refusal to be slaves.” Or maybe I’m just reading too much into it.

If, in fact, Haiti made a deal with the devil, it was throwing in its lot with the United States and allowing the United States so much influence in the political processes of the country.

Anyway, this is not the first time Pat Robertson has been in violation. Every now and then he says something off the wall that simply links him to a long line of racists who wrap themselves in the flag of Christianity.

My greatest hope is that Black Jesus will reveal himself to Pat Robertson in that moment before he enters into eternity; spending eternity with the image of Black Jesus burned into his subconscious is hell enough for Robertson, but right now I just wish he would STFU!

Honorable Mention: William Jefferson Clinton, please step forward and explain yourself Before we were interrupted by the catastrophe in Haiti, we spent the first days of this past week debating the meaning and import of Senator Reid’s remarks. However, no one seemed to pay any real attention to the remarks of our purported first black president, William Jefferson Clinton, that at one time then presidential candidate Obama would be bringing him and Ted Kennedy coffee.

This remark could be interpreted one of two ways. It could just mean that because of Senator Obama’s relatively newness to the senate, he would be beholden to them as senior members. Or it could mean that that uppity Negro has seemingly forgotten his place.

Despite the notion that Clinton has done so much to help black folk, if his record were critically examined, you would find that his contributions to African Americans have been little more that symbolic gestures.

And given he and his wife’s seemingly racially derogatory remarks during the darkest days of her campaign, I think he should be pressed to come forward and provide an explanation of his remarks. Until he does, he can just STFU!

When Morning Comes (Thinking about the Haitian Children)

I made the mistake of leaving my television on as I slept last night. And throughout the night the reports of the rescue and relief effort in the aftermath of the earthquake that has ravaged Haiti played, and subconsciously I guess that registered in my mind because several times during the night I got up and walked the length of the house to check on my two children as they slept.

And I felt comforted in knowing that they were alright. I felt comforted in knowing that in the morning they would arise to a hot meal. That both their parents would be there to greet them and wish them well as they departed for the school day. I felt comforted in knowing that except for some unforeseen catastrophe, their world would remain intact for the time being.

Perhaps because I have been a child, because at some time or another I have been hungry, I have been frightened, I have felt vulnerable, utterly helpless, in the face of those things seemingly out of my control, whenever I hear of a disaster such as Katrina, such as the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks in Haiti, in my mind I automatically think of the children. In my mind I automatically put myself in the place of the children.

But I wonder most about that first night. Did the children even get to sleep that first night? But how do you sleep with all that death and destruction and devastation around you? How do you sleep knowing that the world as you know it has suddenly been turned upside down? How do you sleep if a parent or a sibling or a beloved family member is missing and has not been heard from?

But most importantly, how do you close your eyes, how do you sleep, how do you seek repose when you are not sure of what the morning brings? When the only promise the morning holds is that the death, the destruction, the devastation of the night previous will step out of shadows only to be framed by the light of day. What you could only imagine was there, what you really would like to believe was simply a nightmare is only confirmed as real as the morning sun welcomes you to a new day of confusion, of chaos, of disbelief?

It is at this moment I understand my limitations as a human being. It is at this moment when I realize how fragile life really is. It is at this moment that I realize how short my arms really are, how restricted my sphere of influence because if I had my way, when I awoke in the middle of the night, after walking the length of the house and checking on my own children, I would have liked to keep on walking.

I would have liked to find my way from here to those hungry, frightened, bewildered children so that I might put my arms around them and calm them, and reassure them that soon everything would return to normal, or as normal as can be given what has transpired.

I would like to be there when exhaustion finally allowed them to sleep so that when they awake in the darkness, I can be there to comfort them and let them know that in the morning, we will begin rebuilding. We will begin anew. And soon when the morning comes, the horror of the moment will be all but forgotten, and the new day will be greeted again as a thing of promise and not simply as a continuance of a nightmare.

Shakepeare's Sonnet 29 translated into the Negro dialect by Maxwell R. Reddick

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29—When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes

(translated into the Negro dialect by Maxwell Reddick)

Wheneber meh luck done run plumb out and folks is looking at me crazy,

I just goes somewheh and sits by mehself thankin’ and stankin’

Even dey gud Lawd above ain’t even payin’ me no mind,

I just shakes meh head and wundeah how I gots meh-self in this heah predicament,

Sometimes I just wishes I be somebody else,

Somebody dat ebery-body lubs and that has friends an’ such,

I wishes dat I has some kind ah talent, some-ting,

Dem tings I likes the most, I hab the bery least of;

And sometimes I almost just hates meh-self,

But den I thanks ‘bout you, baby, an’ I feels betta’

Just lak a bird sanging when dey sun comes up in dey morning

Sanging so loud dat it can be heard to high hea-ben;

An’ baby wit’ dey good lub you gives me, I is rich

An’ as long as you heah wit me, I wouldn’t eben change places wit a king.

[Original sonnet]

Republicans, thank you for finally showing me how much you care about black folk.

You know, dear reader, I am composing this post with a decided sense of relief. You see, I consider myself a moderate. On some issues I veer left and on others I veer right. For some time now, my political affiliation on my voter’s registration card has been listed as NPA for No Party Affiliation. That way I could reserve the right to vote for a Democrat or a Republican or an Independent or whatever candidate best articulated a platform that most approximated my political beliefs.

That being said, though I have voted for Republican candidates in the past, it has been a while since I have done so. At some point I sensed the Republican political rhetoric to be steering from covertly to blatantly racist, and though I am not overly sensitive when it comes to matters of race, you cannot expect my vote if you cannot respect and acknowledge my humanity. You might hate me in private, but at least put on a good show of it in public.

But that has all come to an end. My suspicions and apprehensions surrounding the seemingly rampant racial rhetoric and racism of the Republican Party have been allayed. The Republican Party has finally shown that they really do care for African Americans.

When Senator Harry Reid’s atrocious remarks during the 2008 campaign that Barack Obama was electable as president in the main because of his light complexion and “he had no Negro dialect unless he wanted one ” finally came to light, who had the courage and the temerity to call him out for his lack of forethought and sensitivity but the Republican Party?

Never mind that though we are loath to admit it, Senator Reid told the truth. He just lacked the eloquence of language in which to frame his remarks.

But only the Republican Party could make the connection to then senate majority leader Trent Lott’s 2002 insinuation that we would be a better nation had we elected segregationist Strom Thurmond to the presidency in 1948 thereby evincing an implied support for a racist, white power platform.

Now I can dismiss the Republican silence when conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh unveiled the snappy ditty “Barack the Magic Negro,” and another Republican politician packaged this with other seemingly racist and sexist tunes and circulated the CD among his supporters on the right.

And I can forget the chill that ran down my spine late in this past presidential campaign when presidential candidate John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin decided to appeal to the most base elements of the party and substitute racially explosive and provocative rhetoric for a comprehensive, substantial platform; from where I sat, each cry of “SOCIALIST, SOCIALIST, SOCIALIST!” sounded an awful like “NIGGER, NIGGER, NIGGER!” but evidently I was mistaken.

And I could have been mistaken when I thought I heard the same sentiments expressed by the whole Tea Party Movement thing. And I could have been mistaken when I thought I heard racial overtones in the inquisition, excuse me, confirmation hearings of Justice Sotomayer.

However, I felt much better when I awoke recently to find my favorite soul brother, Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, pointing out the hypocrisy of the Democratic Party. His song and dance would have been more convincing, though, had he not used the racially insensitive statement, “Honest Injun,” only days previous in communicating the soundness of the Republican Party platform.

Republican Party, I acknowledge your efforts in standing up for me and all other African Americans and you have my deepest and most heartfelt appreciation. Now can you take a timeout from the posturing and jousting with windmills so that you might actually get down to the business of governing.

Are You the Person You Imagine Yourself to Be?: An Ocassion for Self-Examination

“What someone is, begins to be revealed when his talent abates, when he stops showing us what he can do.” –Friedrich Nietzsche

"The measure of a man’s character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out." –Baron Thomas Babington McCauley

It seems that not a week goes go by without reading or hearing about some athlete or celebrity’s colossal blunder or momentary lapse of judgment. And if you are like me, such instances are met with a dismissing shake of the head and self-aggrandizing moralizing about what I would do if the roles were reversed, if I were the one with that much money, that much privilege, that much access.

However, this weekend I had the privilege of having good conversation with good friends who possess a certain measure of good sense and intellect about this very same subject, athletes and celebrities and the horrific personal decisions they make.

However, the conversation did not turn out as I thought it would. I went it with a certain body of assumptions that undergirded my understanding of the whole matter in general and my relationship to the whole issue in particular. But this is what good conversation with good friends causes you to do—think. And if you do not have friends who challenge you intellectually, then begin searching for some.

But I digress. After the conversation, I had to step back and ask myself a few questions. If I had a camera following me 24/7 what would people find out about me? What would I find out about myself?

Shakespeare once put into the mouth of one of his character’s, “This above all: to thine ownself be true.” But how true are we really to ourselves? How well do we really even know ourselves? Often that self we see is that self we see in the mirror of the eyes of others which is essentially the self we consciously project, the self we would like them to see.

But when we are alone with ourselves, what self do we then see? Are we pleased with this self?
And the role money, or the lack thereof, plays in curbing our most base instincts suddenly occurs to me. A broke person moralizes with ease. It is easy to say what you will do or what you will not do when your financial situation limits your access to the world, but if suddenly you found yourself with the financial resources to do anything you wanted to do, if suddenly you found yourself with unfettered access to the world and all the things in it, would your moral code then change? Would that change the person you are and what you believe?

I’m sorry to hit you with something so heavy on a Monday morning, but I have the occasion of examining my own values, of defining myself and my values and attempting to erect some moral boundaries and just wondered if you ever ask yourselves the same questions as well.

And as always, love yourself and be a blessing to somebody.