Filed under: News, Politics, President Obama, Race and Civil Rights
As I got older and studied the life of Dr. King, I quickly realized that his life was very different from my own. He accomplished far more at an early age than I did. He had far more respect than I did. He was a better student than I was. How could I ever match up to that?
But it was OK that I couldn't match Dr. King, primarily because it had been confirmed to me in one celebration after another that I couldn't be anything like that man even if I'd wanted to be. He was superhuman, and I was not. So, rather than having the confidence to continue his legacy, I figured that I would just sit back and enjoy the celebration like everyone else. Why try to match up with perfection?
So, years later, after the celebration of the King holiday has become a great American tradition, I've noticed that Dr. King the legend has escaped even further from the grasp of our children. He has been elevated to live among the Greek Gods, as if he walked on water and could turn 'chitlins' into kool-aid. He was clearly, without question, more ethical, intelligent, creative, brave, focused and capable than any of the six billion human beings on earth could ever try to be.
Maybe it's time to take a second to reconsider just how much damage we've done to King's memory by making him into a excessively commercialized, sloppily-quoted deity. First, Dr. King would be furious that we're teaching our children that they are not as capable as he once was. He started his work for it to be continued, not for it to be relegated to the history books. With African Americans lying at the bottom of nearly every socio-economic quality of life measure, there is much work to be done. Dr. King knew he wouldn't get there with us, but he left it to us to finish the struggle. Instead, the closest any of us think we can come to Dr. King is the picture on our living room wall. When one soldier shows bravery in battle, the last thing he wants is for the other soldiers to stand around applauding and singing "Well shall overcome."
Secondly, by pretending that Dr. King was perfect in life, we are making his legacy vulnerable to those who can prove that he made mistakes. For example, there are some who simply wish to pretend that there was no possibility and no reason to even mention the fact that Dr. King was not always faithful to his wife, Coretta. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy that African Americans keep on our religious figures has not only ruined lives, but it makes all of us look silly. It also heightens the impact of the scandal when the truth finally hits the light of day. I had a friend in the south whose 19-year old mother was impregnated by a 45-year old married pastor. The pastor forced my friend's mother to keep the love child secret, which she did for over 20 years. So, my friend grew up watching her "sanctified" daddy walk right past her in public places without even acknowledging her. You think that might have affected her psychologically? Yes, it did.
If Dr. King cheated on his wife, then so be it. Let the historians analyze it the same way they will discuss the life of former President Bill Clinton. But also like Clinton, once the scandals have been processed, they will remember King's positive contributions to society. The world still loves Bill Clinton, even though he slept with Monica. The last thing we need is to try to maintain a flawless and artificially polished image of King, only to watch the world turn him into another Tiger Woods.
When I recently wrote about how African Americans might want to process King's alleged adultery, I got a lot of angry responses from people who felt that the subject shouldn't even be touched. I quickly found out that no matter how respectfully something is brought up, some issues are off limits when it comes to Dr. King or Barack Obama. But by closing our eyes and ears to the truth of who Dr. King really was, we are only further committing ourselves to ignorance and doing King the disservice of putting him on a pedestal on which no man can comfortably survive. If we want to support the memory of Dr. King, we must support it with truth and full acknowledgement that he was human like the rest of us. We must remind one another that not only can we become every bit as great as Dr. King, we should aim to build off his mistakes and exceed him. There is a Dr. King inside all of us, and even if we are less than perfect, we can still do something great for the world.
This is what I'll be teaching my kids on King Day: Dr. King was a great man who made mistakes like everyone else. But in spite of his mistakes, he kept his eye on the prize and did amazing things. My kids must understand that they will fall on their faces, embarrass themselves and find obstacles at every turn. But by maintaing a commitment to their value systems, becoming educated, courageously striving for their goals and pursuing their purpose with passion, they can continue the outstanding work of Dr. King and all the others who died to give them an opportunity. We don't have time to sit and worship anyone, there's too much work to do.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.