This is Black History Month. We encourage you to participate in activities in your community.
In 1967 Dr. King made his last, and some say most radical, address as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. It was entitled: Where Do We Go From Here? He laid out three charges for African Americans in this speech:
(1) “…assert our dignity and worth and develop an unassailable and majestic sense of values. We must no longer be ashamed of being black.”
(2) “…discover how to organize our strength in terms of economic and political power.”
(3) “…reaffirm our commitment to non-violence.”
I wonder what Dr. King would think if he was still with us today. I wonder what type of grade he would give us on the progress that we have made in the last 47 years since his speech.
(1) “…assert our dignity and worth and develop an unassailable and majestic sense of values. We must no longer be ashamed of being black.”
I think the grade would be C+ at best. While I think that many Blacks are no longer ashamed of being Black we have a lingering issue of lack of self-worth as evidenced by Black-on-Black crime, the glorification of the “N-word” by some in the younger generation, and the continued underachievement of many of young people in education. In addition we still see evidence that young Black women try to look more White with weaved hair and the use of bleaching creams.
(2) “…discover how to organize our strength in terms of economic and political power.”
This is a mixed bag too. While we have made significant progress on this front, blacks continue to lag in their representation in positions of power. Dr. King would certainly be proud of the many firsts for Blacks in this country, most notably the election of a bi-racial president who identifies as African American. The 113th Congress is the most diverse in history. It is 8% Black; 6% Hispanic; 5.6% Asian and 19.9% Female, still not representative of these groups in the population.
According to a Census report, for the first time in recorded history Black voting outpaced the rate of Whites with 66.2% of eligible Blacks voting in the 2012 election, compared with 64.1% of eligible non-Hispanic Whites.
In terms of economic power, there are 6 Black, 9 Asian and 8 Latino CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies. From 2002 to 2007, the number of Black-owned businesses increased by 60.5% to 1.9 million, more than triple the national rate of 18.0%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners. Even so, Black owned businesses only make up 7% of all U.S firms and less than a half percent of all U.S business receipts.
Probably most disturbing, after adjusting for inflation, the median net worth for Black households in 2011 ($6,446) was lower than it was in 1984 ($7,150), while White households’ net worth increased 11% for the same time period. In comparison, the median net worth of White households is $113,000.
I think the overall grade for economic and political power is a D (Political power B-, Economic power F!).
(3) “…reaffirm our commitment to non-violence.”
According to the World Report of Violence and Health, more that 1.6 million people around the world die to violence every year. Violence has become the most common cause of death for people aged 15-44, resulting in death for 14% of males and 7% of females.
While there are many who still advocate for non-violence, I am afraid Dr. King would not be very proud of the progress that we have made towards non-violent approaches to resolve our differences.
The grade for commitment to non-violence, D.
Let’s recommit to the vision that Dr. King had for a world…a vision of a completely integrated society…a beloved community of love, peace and justice reigned.
