Earl B. Dickerson & MLK
Remarks by Earl B. Dickerson on the occasion of the 53rd anniversary of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 15, 1982 at First Chicago Center (the First National Bank of Chicago)
THE PATH FROM SLAVERY TO FREEDOM HAS BEEN A WINDING ROAD, BUT DESPITE ITS MANY TWISTS AND TURN, THE AMERICAN BLACKMAN HAS SET HIS EYES RESOLUTELY ON THE PLACE “WHERE OUR BRIGHT STAR IS CAST.” HIS ZEAL HAS NEVER FLAGGED; HIS GOAL OF FREEDOM HAS REMAINED CONSTANT FOR ALMOST 400 YEARS.
LOOKING BACK ON THE 365 YEARS OF RESIDENCE IN THE WESTERN WORLD, BLACKS CORRECTLY VISUALIZE THEMSELVES FROM THE BEGINNING, AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM. AT TIMES, IN OUR HISTORY, WE WERE PASSING SYMBOLS FOR THE STRUGGLE THAT WAS CARRIED ON BY OTHERS. FREQUENTLY, HOWEVER, WE WERE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE WARFARE TO DESTROY BIGOTRY, REPRESSION AND SUBJUGATION.
AS WE ARE ALL AWARE, THE ANNALS OF AMERICAN HISTORY RECORD THE EXPLOITS AND SACRIFICES OF MANY WHITE HEROES WHOSE NAMES AND STORIES ARE COMMON TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC. THESE ANNALS HAVE TOO OFTEN FAILED TO NOTE THE ROLE OF MALE AND FEMALE AMERICANS OF AFRICAN DESCENT IN FREEDOM’S CAUSE AND THE BUILDING OF THIS NATION.
FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION:
CRISPUS ATTUCKS, AT THE BOSTON MASSACRE
PETER SALEM, AT THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL
HENRY CHRISTOPHE, AT THE SIEGE OF SAVANNAH
JAMES ROBINSON, AT THE BATTLE OF YORKTOWNAND SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES, TO NAME BUT A FEW:
FREDERIC A. DOUGLAS
WILLIAM E. B. DUBOIS
GABRIEL PROSSER
JOHN RUSSWURM
MONROE TROTTER
SOJOURNER TRUTH
HARRIET TUBMAN
NAT TURNER
DENMARK VESSEY
PHILLIS WHEATLEYAS WE PROCEEDED INTO THE 20TH CENTURY, THE FOCUS OF OUR MANY-FACETED THRUSTS BECAME FINE-TUNED TO WHAT WE BELIEVED WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION OF OUR HISTORIC CONSTERNATION – EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW.
BUT, IT WAS NOT UNTIL THAT SPRING DAY IN 1954 THAT WE BEGAN TO FEEL THE REAL MEANING OF THE U. S. CONSTITUTION.
THE MAJOR TURNING POINT IN THE COURSE OF BLACK HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES WAS REACHED ON THAT MOMENTOUS MONDAY, MAY 17, 1954 WHEN THE SUPREME COURT IN BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION RULED THAT RACIAL SEGREGATION IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF THE NATION WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. THIS DECISION, MORE THAN ANY OTHER SINGLE EVENT, DESTROYED THE FOUNDATION OF THE ODIOUS “SEPARATE BUT EQUAL” CASTE SYSTEM PERPETRATED BY THE PLESSY V. FERGUSON DECISION HANDED DOWN 58 YEARS EARLIER. NOT ONLY DID IT GIVE IMPETUS TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, BUT IT BEGAN THE PROCESS OF DISMANTLING INSTITUTIONAL SEGREGATION AND RESTORED TRUTH TO THE 13TH, 14TH AND 15TH AMENDMENTS.
THIS GREAT LEGAL VICTORY SIGNALED FOR BLACK AMERICANS AN UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY TO RENEW WITH VIGOR THE PAINSTAKING PROCESS OF WHAT HAD ALWAYS BEEN FOR US A DISTANT GOAL: TOTAL INTEGRATION INTO THE SOCIAL/ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL FABRIC OF THE UNITED STATES. FOLLOWING THE “BROWN” DECISION, BLACKS ADDED A NEW DIMENSION TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS PICTURE IN THE COUNTRY; OUR OWN PREPAREDNESS TO CAMPAIGN ACTIVELY, AGGRESSIVELY AND BROADLY FOR THE RIGHTS GRANTED BY THE COURTS. THIS NEW INFUSION OF MILITANCY IS AT THE HEART OF WHAT IS CALLED THE CIVIL RIGHTS REVOLUTION. IT IS THE THREAD WHICH RUNS THROUGH THE SUBSEQUENT EVENTS – TESTIFYING TO THE TRANSITION OF THE BLACK SOCIETY FROM A MORE PASSIVE TO A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN THE AGE-OLD STRUGGLE FOR FIRST-CLASS CITIZENSHIP.
THE “MOVEMENT” AS IT BECAME TO BE KNOWN – WOULD GROW IN SIZE AND WEIGHT. IT WOULD BECOME A LEGEND AND A MYTH. IT WOULD BRING BLOOD AND GLORY. BUT THERE WAS NO GLORY IN IT IN THE BEGINNING. IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS TIREDNESS; ONE BLACK WOMAN AND A BUS.
THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT (12-05-1955) HAD NUMEROUS CONCRETE RESULTS, AND SEVERAL IMPORTANT PSYCHOLOGICAL ONES. FOR ONE, IT ESTABLISHED MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. AS A FRESH NEW VOICE IN THE RANKS OF BLACK LEADERSHIP; FOR ANOTHER, IT OPENED THE EYES OF THE URBAN BLACK TO THE STRENGTH HE COULD COMMAND WHEN UNITED BEHIND A COORDINATED PROGRAM FOR THE ASSERTION OF HIS RIGHTS AS A CITIZEN. WHAT HAPPENED IN MONTGOMERY PROVED TO BE SYMPTOMATIC OF WHAT WAS SOON TO FOLLOW IN OTHER CITIES ACROSS THE SOUTH.
IT MAY BE, THAT ONLY ONE MAN IN 10 MILLION COULD HAVE LED THE BOYCOTT WITHOUT THAT CITY EXPLODING INTO ONE OF THE WORST RACE RIOTS IN HISTORY. IF ROSA PARKS HAD BEHAVED AS BLACKS IN MONTGOMERY AND IN THE SOUTH WERE SUPPOSED TO BEHAVE – GET UP AND LET A WHITE MAN HAVE HER SEAT – THE MONTGOMERY IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION WOULD HARDLY HAVE BEEN ORGANIZED. IF THIS ORGANIZATION HAD CHOSEN A PERSON OTHER THAN KING TO COMMUNICATE THE BLACKS’ GRIEVANCES TO THE CITY FATHERS, DR. KING MIGHT HAVE GONE THROUGH LIFE AS A SUCCESSFUL BAPTIST MINISTER AND NO MORE. HIS RARE ABILITY TO LEAD AND INSPIRE THE CLASSES AS WELL AS THE MASSES, IN A CRUSADE OF JUSTICE, MIGHT NEVER HAVE BEEN CALLED FORTH.
BUT, HE WAS THRUST INTO LEADERSHIP AT A CRUCIAL MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF THAT SOUTHERN CITY – PERHAPS, IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. THE TIME AND THE RIGHT MAN MET. HERE, THE YOUNG KING HAD TO DRAW UPON ALL THAT HE HAD LEARNED AND READ AT MOREHOUSE COLLEGE, CROZER AND BOSTON UNIVERSITY; ALL THAT HE HAD ABSORBED FROM CHRIST, GANDHI AND OTHERS OF NONVIOLENT CONVICTION; AND ALL HE HAD GAINED THROUGH MEDITATION AND PRAYER. ONLY AN EXCEPTIONAL MIND, A RARE SPIRIT, AND AN ABIDING FAITH COULD HAVE ENABLED DR. KING TO BE ABSOLUTELY NONVIOLENT, IN JAIL AND OUT, WHEN STABBED AND THREATENED WITH MAYHEM AND VIOLENCE, WITH HIS HOME AND FAMILY CONSTANTLY HARASSED AND IN DANGER OF BEING TOTALLY DESTROYED.
“OUR METHOD,” HE SAID, “WILL BE THAT OF PERSUASION, NOT COERCION. WE WILL ONLY SAY TO THE PEOPLE, ‘LET YOUR CONSCIENCE BE YOUR GUIDE.’” HE WENT ON THEN TO MENTION THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF LOVE, SAYING: “LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, BLESS THEM THAT CURSE YOU, AND PRAY FOR THEM THAT DESPITEFULLY USE YOU.” “IF YOU WILL PROTEST COURAGEOUSLY, AND YET WITH DIGNITY AND LOVE, WHEN THE HISTORY BOOKS ARE WRITTEN IN FUTURE GENERATIONS, THE HISTORIANS WILL HAVE PAUSE TO SAY, ‘THERE LIVED A GREAT PEOPLE – A BLACK PEOPLE – WHO INJECTED NEW MEANING AND DIGNITY INTO THE VEINS OF CIVILIZATION!’ THIS IS OUR CHALLENGE AND OUR OVERWHELMING RESPONSIBILITY.”
AND SO THE TORTUOUS ROAD BEGAN, FROM MONTGOMERY TO MEMPHIS. AS MOST OF US HERE, KNOW, THE STRUGGLE MET WITH SOME OF THE MOST BRUTAL EXPRESSIONS OF MAN’S INHUMANITY TO MAN; INTIMIDATION, FIRE HOSES, DOGS, CATTLE PRODS, JAILING, BEATINGS, BOMBINGS, ARSON, THE KILLING OF CHILDREN AND THE HEINOUS LYNCHINGS – ALL REINFORCED AND SUPPORTED BY AN ENTRENCHED SOCIO-POLITICAL SOUTHERN HEGEMONY.
YET, THE MOVEMENT WENT FORWARD!
ON AUGUST 28, 1963, 100 YEARS AFTER THE SIGNING OF THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON CAME. IT CAME LIKE A FORCE OF NATURE. LIKE A WHIRLWIND, LIKE A FLOOD, IT OVERWHELMED BY ITS MASSIVENESS AND FINALITY. A QUARTER-MILLION PEOPLE: BLACKS, WHITES, PROTESTANTS, CATHOLICS, JEWS, POOR AND AFFLUENT, LABOR AND MANAGEMENT, WERE IN IT AND OF IT. A MONUMENTAL DEMONSTRATION OF BLACK UNITY, A TANGIBLE EXHIBITION OF INTERRACIAL BROTHERHOOD, AN UNPRECEDENTED DISPLAY OF RESOLVE, AN ENTREATY TO THE NATIONAL CONSCIENCE FOR FREEDOM.
“I SAY TO YOU TODAY, MY FRIENDS, SO EVEN THOUGH WE FACE THE DIFFICULTIES OF TODAY AND TOMORROW, I STILL HAVE A DREAM. IT IS A DREAM DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE AMERICAN DREAM. I HAVE A DREAM THAT ONE DAY THIS NATION WILL RISE UP AND LIVE OUT THE TRUE MEANING OF ITS CREED, ‘WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT. THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL!”
HE CLOSED HIS MESSAGE BY SAYING:
“AND WHEN THIS HAPPENS, AND WHEN WE ALLOW FREEDOM TO RING, WHEN WE LET IT RING FROM EVERY VILLAGE AND EVERY HAMLET, FROM EVERY STATE AND EVERY CITY, WE WILL BE ABLE TO SPEED UP THAT DAY WHEN ALL GOD’S CHILDREN, BLACK MEN AND WHITE MEN, JEWS AND GENTILES, PROTESTANTS AND CATHOLICS, WILL BE ABLE TO JOIN HANDS AND SING IN THE WORDS OF THE OLD NEGRO SPIRITUAL: ‘FREE AT LAST. FREE AT LAST. THANK GOD ALMIGHTY, WE ARE FREE AT LAST.’”
A DIRECT RESULT OF THIS MASSIVE OUTPOURING ON THE NATIONAL SCENE WAS PASSAGE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT (1964), AND THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT (1965), AS PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON AND CONGRESS RESPONDED TO THE DRAMA AND CREATIVE TENSION GENERATED BY THIS AND OTHER NONVIOLENTLY EXECUTED DEMONSTRATIONS.
OF COURSE, THE MULTI-FACETED ACTIVITIES ENGAGED IN BY DR. KING AND HIS EVER GROWING COHORT OF FOLLOWERS ATTRACTED WORLD-WIDE ATTENTION. THIS INTERNATIONAL CONCERN OVER AMERICA’S RACIAL STRUGGLE AND BELIEF IN HIS GREAT CRUSADE CULMINATED IN HIS SELECTION AS THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER OF 1964.
AT PRESENTATION OF THE AWARD DR. KING SAID IN PART:
“I ACCEPT THIS AWARD TODAY WITH AN ABIDING FAITH IN AMERICA AND AN AUDACIOUS FAITH IN THE FUTURE OF MANKIND. I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THE IDEA THAT THE ‘ISNESS’ OF MAN’S PRESENT NATURE MAKES HIM MORALLY INCAPABLE OF REACHING UP FOR THE ETERNAL ‘OUGHTNESS’ THAT FOREVER CONFRONTS HIM. I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THE IDEA THAT MAN IS MERE FLOTSAM AND JETSAM IN A RIVER OF LIFE, UNABLE TO INFLUENCE THE UNFOLDING EVENTS WHICH SURROUND HIM. I REFUSE TO ACCEPT THE VIEWS THAT MANKIND IS SO TRAGICALLY BOUND TO THE STARLESS MIDNIGHT OF RACISM AND WAR THAT THE BRIGHT DAYBREAK OF PEACE AND BROTHERHOOD CAN NEVER BECOME A REALITY.”
AFTER ALL THE APPLAUSE AND CONGRATULATORY RESPONSES, THERE REMAINED THE SWEAT, THE TEARS AND THE BLOOD THAT LAY BEYOND THE CREST OF THE HILL.
IN THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED, DR. KING WAS CONSTANTLY SURVEYING THE ALWAYS EXPANDING RANGE OF HIS INVOLVEMENT. AS HE BEGAN TO FORMULATE AND CRYSTALLIZE HIS CREED JUST PRIOR TO HIS DEATH, HE HAD REALIZED THAT NO THREAT TO HUMAN DIGNITY ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD COULD BE EXCLUDED FROM HIS CRUSADE. HE HAD COMMITTED HIMSELF TO TOTAL WAR AGAINST THE TOTAL ENEMY, ONE OF WHOSE FACES IS RACISM; ANOTHER POVERTY. IT WAS THIS DREAM OF ACHIEVING FREEDOM AND JUSTICE FOR THE PEOPLES OF THE ENTIRE WORLD, OF A NONVIOLENT REVOLUTION IN WHICH THE AMERICAN BLACKMAN WOULD HAVE BEEN THE VANGUARD, WHICH REPRESENTS HIS FINAL VISION.
AND SO IT WAS AS HE SPOKE IN MEMPHIS (TENN.) ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 1968, IN SUPPORT OF A SANITATION WORKERS STRIKE IN THAT CITY. IT WAS PROPHETIC THAT HE WOULD FINALIZE HIS REMARKS WITH:
“WE’VE GOT SOME DIFFICULT DAYS AHEAD. BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER WITH ME NOW. BECAUSE I’VE BEEN TO THE MOUNTAINTOP. AND I DON’T MIND. LIKE ANYBODY, I WOULD LIKE TO LIVE A LONG LIFE. LONGEVITY HAS ITS PLACE. BUT I’M NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THAT NOW. I JUST WANT TO DO GOD’S WILL. AND HE’S ALLOWED ME TO GO UP TO THE MOUNTAIN. AND I’VE LOOKED OVER. AND I’VE SEEN THE PROMISED LAND. I MAY NOT GET THERE WITH YOU. BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW TONIGHT, THAT WE, AS A PEOPLE WILL GET TO THE PROMISED LAND. . . . . .”
JUST AS MOSES WAS ALLOWED TO VIEW THE PROMISED LAND, BUT NOT TO CROSS OVER, SO IT WAS WITH DR. KING, FOR ON THURSDAY, THE FOLLOWING DAY, APRIL 4, 1968, THE HORRIFYING WORDS OF HIS ASSASSINATION SPREAD FORTH FROM THE LORRAINE MOTEL BALCONY.
IF YOU WILL ALLOW I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A POINT OF PRIVILEGE.
IN EPILOGUE, AFTER NEARLY A DECADE AND A HALF SINCE DR. KING’S DEATH, THOSE GOALS FOR WHICH HE SO VALIANTLY SURRENDERED HIS LIFE CONTINUE TO ELUDE USE.
THE RECENT RACIAL DISTURBANCES IN MIAMI MADE IT QUITE CLEAR THAT THE CALM THAT HAS CHARACTERIZED RACE RELATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES OVER THE PAST FOURTEEN YEARS WAS A MERE SURFACE CALM, THAT UNDERNEATH THE SURFACE THERE CONTINUES THE SEETHING OUTRAGE BORN OF INJUSTICE. WHEN DR. KING WAS ASSASSINATED, CHICAGO BLACKS ON THE WEST SIDE WERE INSULTED THAT WHITES WOULD SEEK PROPITIATION AND ATONEMENT BY VOLUNTEERING TO WHITEWASH THEIR HOMES. A WEEK OF THAT AND ALL WAS SEEMINGLY FORGOTTEN ON ONE SIDE, EVEN AS DISCRIMINATION IN JOBS AND HOUSING AND SEGREGATION IN THE SCHOOL CONTINUED. THROUGH ALL OF THESE YEARS, THE DISPROPORTIONATE RISE IN UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG CHICAGO BLACKS, THE UNCONSCIONABLE NEGLECT OF ALL-BLACK NEIGHBORHOODS, THE VIOLENCE TRIGGERED WHEN A BLACK BOY RIDES A BICYCLE THROUGH BRIDGEPORT – THE SENSE OF POWERLESSNESS AND FRUSTRATION HAS GROWN.
FROM WHERE I SIT THE VISION OF THE FUTURE IS NOT BRIGHT ON THIS IMPORTANT FRONT. I INVITE EACH OF YOU, HERE ASSEMBLED TODAY TO MARK THE BIRTHDAY OF SO IMPORTANT A MAN, NOT TO WRING YOUR HANDS IN DESPAIR OR TO MAKE SIMPLE GESTURES OF APOLOGY, BUT TO BE AS ACTIVE AS IT IS HUMANLY POSSIBLE IN CONTINUING TO ATTACK AND ULTIMATELY SOLVING THESE PROBLEMS.
THE VOLCANO ON MT. ST. HELENS WAS BEYOND OUR CAPACITY TO CONTROL. THE TIME BOMBS OF OUR INNER CITIES WERE CREATED BY MAN, AND HE HAS THE POWER, RESOURCES AND INTELLIGENCE TO DISMANTLE THEM. WE, ALL OF US, ONLY NEED THE WILL!