Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said much more than “I Have a Dream”
A brief reexamination of his legacy and words
“…as we celebrate the legacy of Dr. King over the next month and a half, we should not only remember the extraordinary dismount for which he received a perfect score of 10, but the remarkable routine that preceded it.”
With Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday and Black History Month on the horizon, it is important to discuss the facts surrounding his legacy–which is commonly whitewashed–and his words–which are commonly invoked and misappropriated. His words are often co-opted, perverted, and used to justify rhetoric and policies that are anti-thetical to anything in which he would’ve believed.
First, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963 and Dr. King’s speech have been distilled down to the “I Have A Dream” portion. Like an Olympic gymnast, he has been prized for the extraordinary dismount but the remarkable routine has been overlooked. Lest not forget, that the march and his speech were intended to catalyze passage of important civil rights legislation–what would later be known as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Prior to delivering the iconic, impromptu, and aspirational “I Have A Dream” phrase in his speech, Dr. King addressed the crowd by calling for an end to police brutality, segregation, and fulfillment of the rights promised to Black Americans by both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence including access to the ballot. His aspirational words were only after America had achieved its promise of civic and economic equality for everyone.
“Dr. King was certainly not calling for colorblindness. …he was calling for a non-judgmental society that embraced the beauty, humanity, and lived experiences in people of different colors–preceded by civic and economic equality for everyone.”
Finally, when Dr. King aspired for his children to “one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”, some interpreted this as a call for action for colorblindness. Through the years, this sentence has been exploited and weaponized by politicians and “unifying” organizations to obstruct affirmative action, civil rights legislation, or even discussing America’s racist history. We’ve even seen this recently when a presidential candidate has repeatedly appropriated and perverted his words to score political points.
Dr. King was certainly not calling for colorblindness. As a series of tweets by his daughter suggests, he was calling for a non-judgmental society that embraced the beauty, humanity, and lived experiences in people of different colors–preceded by civic and economic equality for everyone.
A transcript of the speech in its entirety can be found here.
So, as we celebrate the legacy and words of Dr. King over the next month and a half, we should not only remember the extraordinary dismount for which he received a perfect score of 10, but the remarkable routine that preceded it.
