On this 2017 MLK celebration of Life Holiday, have you really considered why we celebrate this man’s life? Denise wrote a beautiful diary today but did we all get what she was conveying about the time to Resist and why it is so important? I am sending another reminder but doubt I can say more than in the diary Denise wrote. It will still be my way of giving honor to Dr. Martin Luther King this year. A time reminiscent of days gone by. It is my way to tell you that these movements are just as necessary today as then. The struggle may look differently, some advances may appear to be great reform but the underlying hatred and racism still exists and with a feverish desire to under mind any advances that have been made. They still exist. The movement and resistance must continue.
I decided to bring you some words to further implore you to be part of the Resistance to the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump. I urge you to resist the normalizing of the things his regime proposes. This urge to resist is to be reminded of days past and is just as important today.
Excerpt from the Letter from The Birmingham jail Letter by Dr. Martin Luther King
We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal. If I lived in a Communist country today where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I believe I would openly advocate disobeying these anti-religious laws. I MUST make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says, "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically feels that he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time; and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection
Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection….That very sentence hit me straight where I live in my heart. We cannot be comfortable in a lukewarm of normalcy and accept and turn our heads when people are bullied and shouted down and never apologetic for belittling others and disregarding Freedom of Expression. This cannot be a grey area. We must speak up and resist the normalcy of such actions and especially by a person who is supposed to be the leader of this country.
We have come too far and the struggles have been too great with too much bloodshed to be lukewarm in the preservation of civil rights and equality for all. We cannot go back. We of white skin know , whether we accept or not, but do know there has been grave injustices against our brothers and sisters of color, of disability, of sexual orientation and any minority that separates us from all equality. Do not turn your head. Do not feel someone will arise and make this country more sane. The sanity must come from our ability to organize and stay the course of civil disobedience and consistency of purpose. Do not get distracted. This new word unprecidented regarding Trump is not a good word. People have been deceived because evil only survives when good people do nothing.
Examine your hearts, values, strengths and begin to understand what Dr. King knew would be an ongoing movement. Keep in mind many dictators were elected, as they did not overthrow anything. Read the entire letter written from the Birmingham Jail and then call upon your legislators to boycott the inauguration. A message must be sent loud and clear that the ideas of Donald J Tump and his appointed cabinet is not acceptable to people who DO believe in equal justice for all.
Somber time and an absolute time for remembering Dr. Martin Luther King and not succumb to the hypocrisy of those who insist things will be better under this man Trump and do dishonor this holiday by believing such nonsense.
The entire letter:
Dated: A U G U S T 1 9 6 3
x YouTube Video You must to preserve the country.