Comments on: Part II: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Way of Love, Not Hate

By: Cynthia R. Nielsen

Cynthia R. Nielsen — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:32:04 +0000

Hi Russ,

I really appreciate and resonate with your comments–I love the Cornel West quote. Thank you for contributing. Though it’s clearly not the same, I think that women–whether black, white, brown, etc.–experience the “double consciousness” of which you spoke (again in a different way), as well regularly being measured and defined by men. One of the things that I found interesting about Malcolm X (the movie) was the way that black women were constantly de-valued and stereo-typed within their own communities (a problem which of course transcends racial and ethnic boundaries).

If you are interested and have the time, I’d like to invite you to do a guest post highlighting some of the great African American intellectuals, activists, artists and so on (Christian and otherwise) who have been marginalized (both male and female). If this is something that you might have time to do, email me via facebook and we can talk about the details or just give us a call since you have our number. If you don’t have time, I completely understand.

Again, thanks for taking the time to further this conversation.

Best wishes,
Cynthia

By: Russ Whitfield

Russ Whitfield — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 05:48:01 +0000

Sister! Thank you for your wonderful tribute to Dr. King. Dr. King was the consummate African-American leader. That is to say that Dr. King maintained a sustaining eschatology (heaven-orientation) that helped him to guide the African-American community through their “Good Friday” state of existence- “seemingly forever on the cross, perennially crucified, continuously abused and incessantly devalued.” – Cornel West. As I was reading, I couldn’t help but think of the position which Dr. King occupies within the larger historical narrative of America in general, and the African-American sub-plot, in particular (It truly has always been considered a SUB-plot in the eyes of the majority culture). He was a leading character in the climax of the drama and he recognized that he stood “on the shoulders of giants.” African-American leaders and intellectuals of the past like W.E.B. Du Bois were able to put their fingers on many of the problems. For example, one such problem was that of “double consciousness,” a phycological sense experienced by African-Americans whereby they possess a national identity, “an American,” within a nation that despises their racial identity, “a Negro,” the ability of African-Americans to see themselves only through the eyes of White Americans and to measure their intelligence, beauty, and sense of self-worth by standards set by others. However, a successful, thoroughly-Christian strategy would not be developed and implemented until the dawn of Dr. King’s leadership.
His emphasis on anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, and anti-racist thinking and living proved to be a prophetic critique of and challenge to American culture. He was keenly aware of the fact that America was born out of revolutionary revolt and subversive rebellion against British colonialism and imperialism and that although much of white America viewed their country as the promised land, African-Americans viewed this same country as Egypt. With a prophetic, Christian lens, Dr. King was able to show America just how far it had wandered from its own revolutionary past.
Perhaps the most beautiful feature of Dr. King and his work can be seen in the way that he pursued a particularly Christian, or gospel-centered freedom. Contemporary people see freedom as self-determination without limitations (an illusion), however, Dr. King’s ideas about freedom are profound particularly because they reach above and beyond such shallow conceptions of freedom to grasp the very source of freedom Himself.
As you said, all Americans can and should celebrate the life of one of our great countrymen as we seek to embody that spirit of love in our peculiar context.

Grace to you….

By: Angie Fran

Angie Fran — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:21:37 +0000

One of King’s most central legacies often lost in holiday remembrances is his stance against global poverty and his encouragement for all Americans to learn about and combat it.

Download the free 2-page inspirational flyer about Martin Luther King Jr. and what he fought for in this exact regard here:

http://tinyurl.com/KingFlyer

Think about the global poverty statistics mentioned therein – comparing those in King’s time – to those in the present and then pass it on! This would certainly be an excellent way at both honoring King’s vision, and opening your own and others’ eyes to the currently still dreadful state of humanity.

Can you take to heart the words King spoke just 4 days before he was gunned down? That’s what this flyer will ask you. Take the King Challenge – in his own words – and see.

You can also get the flyer by emailing the author at Angie@WhatNewsShouldBe.org

http://www.WhatNewsShouldBe.org