A few years ago we lost a beautiful gem who succumbed to sickle cell...below was the poem that I wrote that was read at her funeral
A Star Still Burns
Heaven sent and heaven bound
A star still burns
Yet we mourn,
A beautiful voice now silent, but
A star still burns
The darkest night is now enchanted
Brightened by a light we knew so well
A soul moves on
And we were touched by an angel
Full of spirit
Full of life
A star still burns
The heavens were changed, eternally transformed by her presensce
As we were
This a day for memories
Not for pain
Though our hearts ache
Today is a day for deliverance
Not for letting go
Though our eyes well and our tears flow, and flow
Today is a day for hope and faith
Not for good bye
For good byes are forever
We remember the good times and the laughter
One journey ends
Another one begins
One door closes
Another one opens
Go in peace beautiful sister, return to forever
Waiting to greet us at the crossroads
Until that day, we know where to find you, shining bright, knowing
That forever in the heavens and in our hearts
Your star still burns
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Dr. King's unfinished Legacy - The Revolutionary
On April 4th 1967 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. broke his silence on the Vietnam War – on April 4th 1968 Dr. King was silenced. In 2005 I began work on a film titled Beyond Vietnam – Dr. King’s Last Year to uncover the impact of Dr. King’s anti war stance. If I Have a Dream was his most recognized speech, his Mountaintop speech, his most emotional, clearly the speech given by Dr. King one year to the day before his death was his most political. I first discovered this speech in 2004 when doing research for the YMCA’s annual Dr. King breakfast. I was immediately struck by the date, and the revolutionary tone of his speech. Yet what was most compelling was how little known was this speech? I began to ask myself, why was this speech relegated to footnote status, never receiving the same acclaim as the others. These questions compelled me to do some more research, and what I found was stunning.
I found that as far back as 1965, Dr. King begun to have doubts about the merits of America’s involvement in Vietnam. Those doubts reached ultimately reached the White House and reportedly led to a frosty relationship between Dr. King and President Lyndon Johnson. It was understandable to some degree that Lyndon Johnson whose support for the civil rights agenda which ultimately led to the Democratic Party losing the South, felt a sense of betrayal toward Dr. King. However what was most surprising was the pushback within the civil rights community. In his book I May Not Get There With You, Michael Eric Dyson chronicles a 1965 press conference by a chastened Dr. King who decided to back away from opposing the war as a result of negative feedback the civil rights community including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As a result, for two years Dr. King kept his distance until the pressure from the anti war movement intensified, as anti war activist like Dr Benjamin Spock, and Chicagoan James Bevel who was active in both the anti war movement and marched with Dr. King continued to press home to the civil rights leader how critical his role was. Reportedly the tipping point took place at the Miami Airport when returning from Jamaica, anti war advocates showed Dr. King photos of Vietnamese children with burn scars from US napalm bombing attacks. After this preliminary research, I concluded that as long as Dr. King was viewed through the narrow prism of civil rights, and I Have a Dream, his legacy was tragically incomplete.
The last year of Dr. King’s life which began with his anti war speech marked a sea change in his ministry, and more importantly his world view. By expanding his message into human rights, justice, and anti war themes, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. removed himself zone of a “safe” leader to one that whose views represented a clear and present challenge to the status quo, and perhaps made him dangerous. Today over 40 years later, with an African American President who makes human rights speeches in Cairo, it may be hard to grasp the contextual importance of the evolution of Dr King but it only takes one reading of that speech to come to grips with its sheer force. At a time when America struggled with its new role as an imperialistic nation, taking the torch from a war torn Europe, Dr. King was shaking the circles of power in this country to its foundation. Below is an excerpt from his speech:
“These are revolutionary times. All over the globe men are revolting against old systems of exploitation and oppression, and out of the wounds of a frail world, new systems of justice and equality are being born. The shirtless and barefoot people of the land are rising up as never before. The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. We in the West must support these revolutions.”
Revolutionary words, from a civil rights leader turned revolutionary. As we reflect on the life of Dr. King, perhaps now we should go beyond the comfort zone of a civil rights leader, and see Dr. King for who he was - a revolutionary. But more importantly we should reflect on the America that he saw in 1967, an America that he loved, yet one that he implicated as a society “gone mad” on war. It is even appropriate to ask ourselves have we as a nation truly evolved since the sixties. As we reflect on Dr. King - reflect on an opportunity lost, reflect on how one of the last giants of the 20th century moved beyond mere dreams, and who in the last year of his life, laid a final and ultimate gauntlet. Dr. King’s challenge was simple, either we change course or face the same fate of nations who had overreached, over extended, and lost contact with their fundamental founding principles. As we reflect on the life of Dr. King, our reflection takes place ironically when the first African American President is sending 30,000 men and women to fight in an unpopular and fiscally draining war. Our reflection of Dr. King comes at time when once again, the fog of war has led to the fatigue of war.
Dr. Martin Luther King was a dreamer; no doubt his vision of a color blind America, should be honored, and has been to some small degree validated with the election of Barack Hussein Obama. Yet to truly honor Dr. King we must also see him as a steely eyed commentator of an America whose vision pierced the veil of the Great Society and prophesized that “The image of America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom, and democracy, but the image of violence and militarism.” As American enters a phase of her history when her capacity to impact change, is questioned, and her global leadership diminished, perhaps the ultimate legacy of Dr. King is not the election of a man of color, but the reality that a great deal of this nation’s problems, and loss standing in the world are due in large part because we failed to heed Dr. King’s dire warnings.
I found that as far back as 1965, Dr. King begun to have doubts about the merits of America’s involvement in Vietnam. Those doubts reached ultimately reached the White House and reportedly led to a frosty relationship between Dr. King and President Lyndon Johnson. It was understandable to some degree that Lyndon Johnson whose support for the civil rights agenda which ultimately led to the Democratic Party losing the South, felt a sense of betrayal toward Dr. King. However what was most surprising was the pushback within the civil rights community. In his book I May Not Get There With You, Michael Eric Dyson chronicles a 1965 press conference by a chastened Dr. King who decided to back away from opposing the war as a result of negative feedback the civil rights community including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As a result, for two years Dr. King kept his distance until the pressure from the anti war movement intensified, as anti war activist like Dr Benjamin Spock, and Chicagoan James Bevel who was active in both the anti war movement and marched with Dr. King continued to press home to the civil rights leader how critical his role was. Reportedly the tipping point took place at the Miami Airport when returning from Jamaica, anti war advocates showed Dr. King photos of Vietnamese children with burn scars from US napalm bombing attacks. After this preliminary research, I concluded that as long as Dr. King was viewed through the narrow prism of civil rights, and I Have a Dream, his legacy was tragically incomplete.
The last year of Dr. King’s life which began with his anti war speech marked a sea change in his ministry, and more importantly his world view. By expanding his message into human rights, justice, and anti war themes, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. removed himself zone of a “safe” leader to one that whose views represented a clear and present challenge to the status quo, and perhaps made him dangerous. Today over 40 years later, with an African American President who makes human rights speeches in Cairo, it may be hard to grasp the contextual importance of the evolution of Dr King but it only takes one reading of that speech to come to grips with its sheer force. At a time when America struggled with its new role as an imperialistic nation, taking the torch from a war torn Europe, Dr. King was shaking the circles of power in this country to its foundation. Below is an excerpt from his speech:
“These are revolutionary times. All over the globe men are revolting against old systems of exploitation and oppression, and out of the wounds of a frail world, new systems of justice and equality are being born. The shirtless and barefoot people of the land are rising up as never before. The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. We in the West must support these revolutions.”
Revolutionary words, from a civil rights leader turned revolutionary. As we reflect on the life of Dr. King, perhaps now we should go beyond the comfort zone of a civil rights leader, and see Dr. King for who he was - a revolutionary. But more importantly we should reflect on the America that he saw in 1967, an America that he loved, yet one that he implicated as a society “gone mad” on war. It is even appropriate to ask ourselves have we as a nation truly evolved since the sixties. As we reflect on Dr. King - reflect on an opportunity lost, reflect on how one of the last giants of the 20th century moved beyond mere dreams, and who in the last year of his life, laid a final and ultimate gauntlet. Dr. King’s challenge was simple, either we change course or face the same fate of nations who had overreached, over extended, and lost contact with their fundamental founding principles. As we reflect on the life of Dr. King, our reflection takes place ironically when the first African American President is sending 30,000 men and women to fight in an unpopular and fiscally draining war. Our reflection of Dr. King comes at time when once again, the fog of war has led to the fatigue of war.
Dr. Martin Luther King was a dreamer; no doubt his vision of a color blind America, should be honored, and has been to some small degree validated with the election of Barack Hussein Obama. Yet to truly honor Dr. King we must also see him as a steely eyed commentator of an America whose vision pierced the veil of the Great Society and prophesized that “The image of America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom, and democracy, but the image of violence and militarism.” As American enters a phase of her history when her capacity to impact change, is questioned, and her global leadership diminished, perhaps the ultimate legacy of Dr. King is not the election of a man of color, but the reality that a great deal of this nation’s problems, and loss standing in the world are due in large part because we failed to heed Dr. King’s dire warnings.
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