Beloved Community:
The first thing I learned as a young white girl growing up in the South was that “Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream”. Yes, Dr. King was a remarkable visionary, a true social justice warrior and a devoted lover of God. But as time goes on, what makes me increasingly more uncomfortable is that the man we celebrate today is often reduced to a speech about “dreams”.
Dreams are good, but too often for us white folks, commemorating Dr. King means only remembering the parts of him that make us feel comfortable—that make us feel we have achieved something because today “little black boys and little black girls are able to join hands with little white boys and little white girls”. It is easier to reside in the comfort of the “I Have a Dream,” speech given at the 1963 March on Washington, than to look at what we lose when we focus only on the dream and fail to ask ourselves how we can move beyond the dream.
While this remarkable speech is most remembered for his iconic finish in which he laid out his vision for a future of racial equality in the US, he also spoke to the urgency of now — a lesson that can apply just as much today as it did then. “This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism,” he said. “Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice.” I believe that recent evens in our country are compelling us to ask how we can we move beyond the dream and wrestle with the more radical parts of this great man’s vision.
“Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy.” These words resonated in my heart as I watched the brazen acts of white domestic terrorism on our nation’s Capital last week. I felt anger, rage, sadness, pain, and deep helplessness as the President fueled the fires of hate and insurgency and later remained silent even in the face of death and destruction. I cried as I watched the desperate, pitiful grasps of white supremacy and entitlement in our sacred seat of government.
This weekend, as we move into the celebration of Martin Luther King’s life and legacy, the question most on my mind is one Dr. King asked just before his assassination…” Where do we go from here?” There is no other question from his vast legacy that is more relevant for our country today. We have a choice before us. In an era of emboldened and prolific white supremacy and patriarchy. . .who will we be? Will we give in to cynicism, hatred, and division? Or will we harness our power and inform it with love? With accountability as our benchmark, will we intentionally uproot systems that do not serve ALL people and replace them with justice, and a more expansive and inclusive democracy? Or will we stay silent?
I believe there is only one choice to make. MLK, Jr. once said “Without love, there is no reason to know anyone, for love will, in the end, connect us to our neighbors, our children and our hearts.” He believed that if we really commit to how we connect with one another, how we listen to each other, and focus on how we can improve each other’s lives in measurable ways, we will make a difference in this world. His commitment to the principle of love not being ‘just an idea’, but being a practice was one of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s greatest legacies.
What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country… (from speech by Senator Robert Kennedy announcing MLK’s death)
So, where do we go from here?
Rev. Jackie Holland
Senior Minister/Spiritual Director
