With the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day quick approaching, together with its annual parades, dream-themed speeches, the oh-so-cherished day without work work, and the compulsory extra actions (cook-outs, banquets, and annual organizational happenings), this can be a great time to reassess the same-o-same that we appear to do each… single… yr.
Actually, it’s in all probability previous time that we consider methods to make the annual commemoration extra impactful. A day honoring the “drum main for justice” deserves to be a lot greater than it’s at current. Furthermore, we as a folks want it to be a lot extra.
How do we all know that is so? As a result of all of the issues MLK spoke on and/or fought and died for – civil/human rights, financial justice for the poor, an finish to the U.S. military-industrial complicated, a assured wage, Black self-determination, reparations, and many others. – are fights we must be engaged in in the present day, over 56 years after his homicide.
To that finish, listed below are the “Prime 5 issues wanted to take MLK Day to ‘a whole-nutha’ stage.”
MAKE IT SINGLE-ISSUE-FOCUSED
By making the annual celebration a single-issue-focused occurring we will set the stage for organizations of all types selecting to work collectively as a substitute of working as they’ve been for too lengthy, of their particular person silos.
Not solely that, with all religion establishments, Divine 9 members, colleges, group facilities, grassroots organizations, and many others., pooling their collective brainpower, human-power and assets behind one difficulty for a whole yr (with MLK Day being the kick-off), consider what number of challenges we will overcome and progress we will make.
MAKE IT A WEEKLONG HAPPENING
Organically, MLK Day has already expanded to a weekend expertise. Why not make it a whole week, with the whole lot geared in the direction of the work Blackworld will concentrate on throughout that yr? That week may very well be used to make or finalize plans, kind new collaborations and alliances, study new abilities and applied sciences, and kind/strengthen {our relationships}. This annual weeklong occurring may instill the spirit of ‘Ubuntu” (I’m as a result of we’re) deeper into our beings so we’re much less more likely to fracture and disband when challenges come up – selecting quite to work collectively, recognizing that “when spider webs unite they will tie up a lion.”
INCORPORATE THE KWANZAA PRINCIPLES
The Nguzi Saba (Seven Kwanzaa Rules) had been by no means meant to be acknowledged from Dec. 26 – Jan. 1 alone. They had been meant to be practiced every day. Incorporating these rules – unity, self-determination, collective work & duty, cooperative economics, function, creativity and religion – into the whole lot that goes down in the course of the MLK festivities would function a robust assertion to Black folks throughout the globe. Being hyper-intentional about cooperative economics alone may enhance the circumstances of “Blackworld” exponentially. If we did the identical with every of the seven rules, making them foundational to each parade, banquet, speech, BBQ, convention, symposium, group clean-up, and many others., we’re speaking about a completely totally different world.
TEACH THE UNKNOWN MLK
There isn’t any regulation wherever that claims we’ve to be slavishly dedicated to utilizing the identical drained, white-washed script to show who MLK was and what he stood for. Practising Kujichagulia, being self-determining, means we don’t must ask anyone’s permission to cease instructing the model of MLK authorized by the identical individuals who stood towards him whereas he was alive, thought of him a menace, and brazenly mentioned he wanted to be silenced. If we dare make it an annual custom to concentrate on the unknown, un-white-washed MLK, particularly the MLK of 1965 – 1968, we’d fiddle and uncover that in these final three years of his life, MLK sounded extra like Malcolm X than Malcolm X gave the impression of Malcolm X. Simply sayin’. And it wouldn’t harm if we stopped instructing MLK as if he had been some super-powered, mythic being and centered quite on his humanity, dealing with the identical challenges, doubts, fears, and many others. that we face. Such an method takes the main focus and onus off him and what MLK did again within the day, and as a substitute locations it on us and what we’re referred to as to do proper now.
CELEBRATE DIFFERENCE-MAKING WORK
A crucial element of any motion to enhance a folks’s circumstances is celebration. Even Jesus and his crew, who had been busy preventing towards the oppressive Roman colonizers and rallying his folks, the Hebrews, to construct a self-determining “Kingdom of God” right here on earth, took day trip to take part in a foundational group celebration – a marriage. And Jesus not solely participated, he received the social gathering began proper (and rapidly, proper). We have now the facility to make use of the annual MLK happenings to have a good time the people and organizations which have performed excellent work relating to the earlier yr’s theme/focus. That approach, the MLK Week will have a good time victories from the earlier yr whereas sharpening the concentrate on the work that lies forward. And celebration (optimistic reinforcement) is simpler at getting buy-in. The extra we have a good time the self-determining, power-building actions we wish, the extra we are going to see people and organizations collaborating in those self same actions.
The selection is ours. We will carry on doing the same-o-same MLK actions that kinda-sorta seize our consideration for a day, or we can provide this annual commemoration the brand new life and focus each it and we want… a spotlight that may seize our consideration for a yr, for a decade, for generations, for a lifetime.
