M.L.K Weekend
Well, it’s another MLK holiday weekend here in the United States. I wonder if comedy central is going to air the disgraceful MLK episode of The Boondocks like they did last year. This is the episode where the MLK character shouts out ” you ignorant N—–s shut up and listen to me!” Now I enjoy satire as much as the next person but satire is supposed to have an underlying element of intellectual humor inside of it. There is no humor in this cartoon. Don’t get me started again !
A better way to celebrate MLK day would be to learn more about Howard Thurman, MLK’s mentor. The Atlanta Journal Constitution has an article about Howard Thurman in todays issue. The article is written by a journalist named John Blake. The article talks about how Mr. Thurman was considered to me a mystic, prophet and preacher, who sometimes had dinner at the King home when MLK was still living at home. He later taught MLK at Boston University. In 1936, Howard Thurman traveled to India to meet with Mohandas Gandhi and to discuss his ideas about passive resistance and how this could be used in America to end segregation. During this trip, another Hindu (not Gandhi) told Mr. Thurman that he was a traitor to all dark skinned peoples by embracing Christianity, a religion whose Bible verses had been used to endorse slavery. Mr. Thurman’s response was to write a book called “Jesus and the Disinherited” which talks about the difference between modern, orthodox Christianity and Jesus. The book points out that Jesus himself was a member of an oppressed minority whose backs were against the wall. Mr. Thurman viewed the Gospels as a survival technique for oppressed people.
MLK put Thurman’s ideas into action in the 1950s and 1960s. Although I am friends with African Americans who are dissatisfied with their current lot in life, Thurman’s ideas and MLK’s actions helped to bring about legislation in the U.S. that made it illegal to discriminate against all ethnic minorities. Although this legislation has not solved the problem of inequality it was a first step in the process. Howard Thurman deserves recognition for getting the ideas started.
Happy continuing holidays,
I.C.