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Don't
celebrate
'The
King'
without
doing
the work
of The
Kingdom! |
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Op-Ed by
Rev. Dr.
Wendell
Anthony
Detroit
Branch
NAACP
President
 DETROIT
– On
Monday,
January
17,
voices
from
every
corner
of
America
will
proclaim
how much
they
love and
revere
Dr.
Martin
Luther
King,
Jr.
Politicians
from
Republicans,
Democrats,
and
Independents
will
attend
worship
services,
pay
community
tributes,
send out
press
releases
and make
pompous
statements
about
how much
he did
for this
country.
They
will
openly
and
unashamedly
declare
how
great he
was and
how much
he
fought
for
racial
equality.
Many
will
quote
passages
from his
historic
I Have A
Dream
speech
(the
only one
unfortunately
in which
most are
even
familiar),
as they
consistently
work to
turn it
into a
nightmare.
In
approaching
the King
holiday,
it is
important
to
remember
Dr. King
was not
just a
dreamer.
He was a
doer. He
was a
worker.
He did
not
stand on
ceremony.
He stood
on
sacrifice.
Please
do not
leave
him
perched
on a
mountain
top
dreaming.
He must
be
brought
back
down
into the
valley,
still
working.
For
those
who say
they
believe
in Dr.
Martin
Luther
King
Jr.’s
dream
for
America
but not
his plan
to help
change
America,
you are
simply
blowing
smoke up
the rear
end of
the
Statue
of
Liberty.
One
cannot
be for
Dr. King
and
against
the
right to
vote.
One
cannot
in a
single
breath
talk
about,
“We hold
these
truths
to be
self-evident
that all
men are
created
equal.”
There is
no
substance
in
politicians
who
proudly
proclaim,
“my
country
tis of
thee,
sweet
land of
liberty,
of thee
I sing.”
Your
song is
not
pleasing
to the
ear.
Your
words
are not
sweet to
the
taste.
Dr. King
said,
“Now is
the time
to make
real the
promises
of our
democracy.
Now is
the time
to rise
from the
dark and
desolate
valley
of
segregation
to the
sun-lit
path of
racial
justice.”
He
further
indicated
that
“Voting
is the
foundation
stone
for
political
action.”
If we
really
want to
celebrate
Dr.
King,
then let
us
celebrate
the
passage
of the
John
Lewis
Voting
Rights
Advancement
Act out
of the
Senate.
Let us
pass the
Freedom
to Vote
Act out
of the
House of
Representatives.
Let us
carve
out from
the
filibuster
a
process
to pass
the most
important
measures
of our
nation,
voting
rights.
We
carved
out a
path to
increase
the debt
ceiling,
to
appoint
judges
to the
court,
and
anything
else
these
current
obstructionists
in the
Congress
deemed
as
important.
Dr. King
fought
for
freedom
and
justice.
There
are
those
who now
appear
ready to
take
away the
freedoms
that he
has won
and to
leave
him with
a
contaminated
legacy
of
political
injustice.
The
bills
currently
in
Congress,
both the
House
and the
Senate
are
bipartisan
in their
very
nature.
They
deal
with:
•
Greater
access
to the
voting
booth
•
Creation
of a
federal
holiday
to allow
voting
in
greater
numbers
•
Expands
voting
by
mail-in
ballots
•
Requires
public
notification
before
changes
are made
to
voting
laws
•
Restores
federal
oversight
of state
election
laws
• Allows
same day
and
automatic
voter
registration.
The vast
majority
of
Americans,
not
politicians,
in a
show of
real
bipartisanship
support
these
measures.
We
cannot
allow
the
Republican
party,
state
and
national
officials,
along
with two
or three
democrats
to place
a
stranglehold
around
the neck
of
American
democracy.
America
is at a
crossroads.
Will we
turn
back to
a nation
that has
gone
bankrupt,
according
to the
bank of
justice,
which in
1963
sent
back to
Dr.
King, “a
bad
check
marked
insufficient
funds”?
It is
past
time to
collect
on this
promissory
note.
Each of
us must
do our
own
individual
part to
preserve
the
cause
for
freedom
and
justice.
The
right to
vote,
the
right to
a full
and
representative
democracy,
and the
right to
equity
of
opportunity
lies on
the
scaffold
in the
heart of
every
American.
Will, we
be-head
the
cause of
democracy
for a
dogmatic,
authoritarian
autocracy?
Or will
we
preserve
it,
guaranteeing
our
continuous
freedom
and
collective
security?
These
are the
two
questions
for
every
politician.
These
are the
questions
for
every
corporate
and
business
entity.
These
are the
questions
for
every
media
outlet.
These
are the
questions
for
every
individual
who
calls
this
land
their
home.
The
future
is in
your
hands.
Democracy
is in
your
hands.
The
scriptures
are very
clear on
these
questions.
They
simply
remind
us, “by
their
fruit,
you
shall
know
them,”
Matthew
7:16.
For
those
who
simply
want to
stand
around
the base
of the
fruit
tree
while
others
have
climbed
it, gone
out on a
limb to
pluck
it,
please
do not
bend
over to
claim it
once the
fruit is
lying
before
us down
here on
the
ground.
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