Embracing Dr Martin Luther King Jr's legacy

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

On Sunday, the world watched with pride as America unveiled a most impressive monument to Dr Martin Luther King Jr at the National Mall in Washington, DC, the US capital.

The 30-foot monument, made by Chinese sculptor Mr Lei Yixin from 159 pieces of Chinese granite, is — we are told — designed to embrace Dr King's legacy as a global icon.

In fact, one news report on the controversy that has so unnecessarily dogged this memorial, quotes Mr Lei as saying, "Martin Luther King is not only a hero of Americans, he also is a hero of the world, and he pursued the universal dream of the people of the world".

Mr Lei, of course, is absolutely correct. For Dr King's message of social and economic justice, and respect for opposing views resonated with us here in Jamaica where, at the time, we were emerging as a new nation from colonial rule.

Dr King's now famous march on Washington in August 1963, where he delivered what has been described as his "world-altering" 'I have a dream' speech, touched the hearts of many Jamaicans as we — a predominantly black country — saw and agonised over the backward segregationist policies being practised in sections of the United States at the time.

That was a shameful era of American governance that, thankfully, has largely been expunged due to the sacrifices made by thousands of people like Dr King.

But, as US President Barack Obama correctly noted in his address to the dedication ceremony on Sunday, almost 50 years after Dr King's march on Washington, the civil rights leader's work is not yet complete.

President Obama's reference was to inequality, rising poverty and increased joblessness now troubling America. However, we are still witnessing a subtle racism in the tone of some political commentators, particularly the neo-conservatives, in discussions about the presidency.

So statements like 'we must take back our country' are no doubt meant to suggest that someone of President Obama's hue should not be commander-in-chief of the United States.

But those who perpetuate that most unfortunate view need to remember that Mr Obama was democratically elected by the majority of Americans in 2008.

Like Dr King, President Obama has found that bringing change to America is difficult and, as the president acknowledged in his address on Sunday, change doesn't come without controversy.

Change, he pointed out, "depends on persistence" and "requires determination".

Given what we've seen of President Obama so far, we don't expect that he will give up on his quest to bring change to America. He'll have a tough time doing it, given the political and economic odds stacked against him. However, we envision that his resolve to continue the work of Dr King and, in fact, his desire to create his own legacy will propel him to stay the course.

As he correctly said on Sunday: "We can't be discouraged by what is. We've got to keep pushing for what ought to be, the America we ought to leave to our children, mindful that the hardships we face are nothing compared to those Dr King and his fellow marchers faced 50 years ago, and that if we maintain our faith, in ourselves and in the possibilities of this nation, there is no challenge we cannot surmount."

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COMMENTS (2)

wanda woeman
10/18/2011

@David Armstrong what makes you think that Dr. Mandela can do it in Jamaica when he couldn't do it in South Africa.

David Armstrong
10/18/2011

Dr. Martin Luther King is undoubtedly one of the greatest social activist and reformer we have seen in recent history. Nelson Mandela is also one of them. What Jamaicans can learn from these two men is that oppression and social injustice can be overcome. Both men by their bravery and courage forced the corrupt and evil political system to change their racist policies. JA needs men like Dr. King and Nelson Mandela to force a change of the corrupt political system and put an end to the gun crimes.

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Embracing Dr Martin Luther King Jr's legacy