Twenty years ago today, the Million Man March called African American men to our nation’s capital for a “day of atonement.” Last week Minister Louis Farrakhan called crowds to Washington, D.C., under the banner of “justice or else.”
Seemingly, they have forgotten the MLK Dream of reconciliation. Not to make light of the frustrations beleaguering the African American community, our nation and indeed the world, but we must continue to teach and enact nonviolent solutions to our problems.
For example, just last week, my mother, Naomi King, was carjacked. She “was not scared or angry” at her young attacker. She was “frustrated by the misguided effort” to take her property using physical force. In an open letter, she encouraged him to seek Jesus and nonviolence in order to fulfill his destiny.
The next day, my pastor and mentor of 28 years, Allen McNair, founder of Believers’ Bible Christian Church, passed away. During his lifetime, he taught and demonstrated that the best way to encourage, assist and transform “Black America,” our communities, our cities, the nation and the world is with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
My father, Rev. A.D. King; my grandfather, Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr.; and my uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stood at the forefront of the cause of basic human rights. In spite of horrible violence perpetrated against them and other African Americans, they held fast to the truth that “hate is too great a burden to bear.” They fought on a platform of love, the one power that can overcome hate.
While racism has not been eradicated in the United States, we have come a long way. As one of the speakers at last week’s gathering noted, one of the attendees in the crowd 20 years ago was now-president Barack Obama.
Today, Dr. Ben Carson is one of the leading candidates to replace the president. What was unthinkable in terms of race relations during the early decades of my life is now not only acceptable, but the new norm.
The lasting impact of the King Family Legacy is that we seek the way to lasting progress and change through love, not hate. Uncle M. L. King once wrote: “Bomb our homes and threaten our children, and as difficult as it is, we will still love you.”
Having survived the bombing of my family home in Birmingham, I understand the difficulty of what he said. Having lived through decades of enormous advances in harmony between blacks, whites and others in this country, I understand the correctness of what he said.
Obviously, his timeless message lives — still promising profound and amazing success.
Love builds. Hate destroys.
What is also obvious, however, is that of late we have seen instances of terrible injustices committed against African Americans by police officers. We have also seen for years the ongoing injustice of black-on-black crime, an occurrence of which my own mother experienced a few days ago.
Our response to this violence, though, should not be to take action that destroys our neighborhoods or tears down our social structures.
Our response should be to pursue positive change. We need not be passive – the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was anything but passive!
Once again quoting Uncle M.L., “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.”
When I heard a speaker at this year’s “justice or else” event chanting, “Down, down, USA!” it saddened me terribly. Not only was this speaker destructive, she was just plain wrong.
Our nation faces many trials. As the director of African American Outreach for Priests for Life, I’m particularly grieved by our trampling of the civil rights of the unborn. But the U.S. has proven over and over again that, having been founded on righteous principles, we can ultimately only achieve justice by lifting up those principles, not tearing them down.
As Americans, members of the human family of Acts17:26, let us begin to meet our challenges by recognizing that each one of us, regardless of our station in life or our stage of life, is entitled to respect. Let each one of us, regardless of our color or ethnicity, show concern for each other’s wellbeing.
Most of all, let us love one another. That was my uncle’s dream, our family’s dream. It’s still rooted in the American Dream today.
Dr. Alveda C. King is founder of Alveda King Ministries and director of African American Outreach for Priests for Life. She is the daughter of the late slain civil rights activists Rev. A. D. and Naomi King and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
