- Jan 20, 2015
- 3,041
- 504
5 Lessons From Martin Luther King Jr. To Apply To Trump’s America
01/13/2017 11:36 am ET
Trump’s win and America’s divisiveness have left some Americans feeling hopeless ― ---but this country has reckoned with this kind divisiveness before. We’ve gone through Civil War, after all. And Reconstruction. And those decades of Jim Crow that gave way to what we know today as the Civil Rights Movement, an era that more and more feels eerily similar to the one we’re living in today.
Since his assassination in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has gone from being an ordinary man fighting for a righteous cause, to a man who has become as synonymous with the American story as the founding fathers. The memory of Dr. King has been used as a shorthand for morality.
But also, Dr. King’s legacy and what he stood for has been watered down, oversimplified, and appropriated to justify the very things he fought against. His words have been twisted in order to denounce the Black Lives Matter movement, and bolster anti-transgender bathroom bills.
His lessons went far beyond “I Have A Dream.”
1. This is not normal.
We cannot settle into a false sense of complacency and accept the next four years as our “new normal.”
2. Colorblindness isn’t the solution, but focusing on our economic similarities might be.
Trump’s campaign fed on the distrust of the “other,” be they undocumented immigrants or BLM protestors. But what Dr. King knew, and what we shouldn’t lose sight of, is that selling the narrative of fear of the other is simply a tactic to distract from the social issues that plague us.
3. Everyone has to mobilize in the movement for equality.
While social media has changed and even enhanced activist work, Dr. King’s on-the-ground mobilization is something to be emulated. Between 1961 and 1968, the SCLC’s Citizenship Education Program trained over 8,000 people in organizing.
4. All forms of protest should be understood.
“Urban riots... may be deplored, but they are there and should be understood. They are not insurrections. The rioters are not seeking to seize territory or to attain control of institutions. They are mainly intended to shock the white community,” King said in a 1967 speech. He explained that riots are a “distorted form of social protest,” and that looting “enables the most enraged and deprived Negro to take hold of consumer goods with the ease the white man does by using his purse.”
He added: “But most of all, alienated from society and knowing that this society cherishes property above people, he is shocking it by abusing property rights. There are thus elements of emotional catharsis in the violent act.”
5. The concept of love.
Dr. King is best known for his message of love and non-violence towards the oppressor. But King was not necessarily a pacifist. His commitment to love and non-violence was not idealistic ― it was a calculated tactic. When he talked about love, King often referred to “agape,” the highest form of love, a spiritual love. In a 1957 essay Dr. King explained the concept this way:
“In speaking of love we are not referring to some sentimental emotion. It would be nonsense to urge men to love their oppressors in an affectionate sense … When we speak of loving those who oppose us we speak of a love which is expressed in the Greek word Agape. Agape means nothing sentimental or affectionate; it means understanding, redeeming goodwill for all men, an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. ”
* 5 Lessons From Martin Luther King Jr. To Apply To Trump's America ... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...or-trumps-america_us_5874fae0e4b043ad97e5bf75 - 599k - Cached - Similar pages
01/13/2017 11:36 am ET
Trump’s win and America’s divisiveness have left some Americans feeling hopeless ― ---but this country has reckoned with this kind divisiveness before. We’ve gone through Civil War, after all. And Reconstruction. And those decades of Jim Crow that gave way to what we know today as the Civil Rights Movement, an era that more and more feels eerily similar to the one we’re living in today.
Since his assassination in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has gone from being an ordinary man fighting for a righteous cause, to a man who has become as synonymous with the American story as the founding fathers. The memory of Dr. King has been used as a shorthand for morality.
But also, Dr. King’s legacy and what he stood for has been watered down, oversimplified, and appropriated to justify the very things he fought against. His words have been twisted in order to denounce the Black Lives Matter movement, and bolster anti-transgender bathroom bills.
His lessons went far beyond “I Have A Dream.”
1. This is not normal.
We cannot settle into a false sense of complacency and accept the next four years as our “new normal.”
2. Colorblindness isn’t the solution, but focusing on our economic similarities might be.
Trump’s campaign fed on the distrust of the “other,” be they undocumented immigrants or BLM protestors. But what Dr. King knew, and what we shouldn’t lose sight of, is that selling the narrative of fear of the other is simply a tactic to distract from the social issues that plague us.
3. Everyone has to mobilize in the movement for equality.
While social media has changed and even enhanced activist work, Dr. King’s on-the-ground mobilization is something to be emulated. Between 1961 and 1968, the SCLC’s Citizenship Education Program trained over 8,000 people in organizing.
4. All forms of protest should be understood.
“Urban riots... may be deplored, but they are there and should be understood. They are not insurrections. The rioters are not seeking to seize territory or to attain control of institutions. They are mainly intended to shock the white community,” King said in a 1967 speech. He explained that riots are a “distorted form of social protest,” and that looting “enables the most enraged and deprived Negro to take hold of consumer goods with the ease the white man does by using his purse.”
He added: “But most of all, alienated from society and knowing that this society cherishes property above people, he is shocking it by abusing property rights. There are thus elements of emotional catharsis in the violent act.”
5. The concept of love.
Dr. King is best known for his message of love and non-violence towards the oppressor. But King was not necessarily a pacifist. His commitment to love and non-violence was not idealistic ― it was a calculated tactic. When he talked about love, King often referred to “agape,” the highest form of love, a spiritual love. In a 1957 essay Dr. King explained the concept this way:
“In speaking of love we are not referring to some sentimental emotion. It would be nonsense to urge men to love their oppressors in an affectionate sense … When we speak of loving those who oppose us we speak of a love which is expressed in the Greek word Agape. Agape means nothing sentimental or affectionate; it means understanding, redeeming goodwill for all men, an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. ”
* 5 Lessons From Martin Luther King Jr. To Apply To Trump's America ... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry...or-trumps-america_us_5874fae0e4b043ad97e5bf75 - 599k - Cached - Similar pages