Dr. King (not disneyfied)

source

I am responsible for the social media at work, so it's my job to find nice, innocuous quotes on knowledge, leadership, learning and other stuff to post on twitter and facebook.  Nice quotes made by nice people.  Inoffensive people. Uncontroversial quotes by uncontroversial people.  In my research I sometimes come across good quotes by people that I can't use.  Does it matter who said something if it's the right thing? Does this change the fact that the words are good?  Do the beliefs of the people taint their words and the meaning of the words?

I believe that they do.

What I was struck by in my research was how so much of what Dr. King said in the 1960s is still incredibly relevant today.  (For instance, Dr. King said  “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” As we struggle to find a way to provide access to fair health care for all in this country, this is timely indeed.)

Most of the information floating around on the internet (facebook, twitter, et al) around the time of Dr. King's birthday (15 January, observed as a public holiday on the third Monday of January) has (and will) refer to his non-violence and his compassion.  I'm afraid that with time the Civil Rights struggle has become disneyfied.  

Dr. King's room hours after he was shot (Steve Schapiro, photographer, 1968) source

The more time that elapses, the more memory softens the struggle by all those who fought for Civil Rights and endured oppression and injustice.  

This is not to discount his wonderful compassion.  As he said, “Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”  I have found this to be true, and I would rather risk my safety to do something than stand by idly by.

 

So, while some may be celebrating Dr. King's non-violence and reliance on love as opposed to hate (both of which I also celebrate!), I will be concentrating instead on his courage and fortitude.  Just because time has passed it does make the struggle for Civil Rights any less harrowing and horrifying.  Just because it ended reasonably well and we can remember it with the "I Have a Dream" speech does not mean that we should not also remember that it is a struggle that remains on-going.

I leave you with this,  “Courage faces fear and thereby masters it” -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.