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Words for all Seasons
I daresay that most of the people that dislike the celebration of
anything Martin Luther King have never read the Letter from Birmingham
Jail. I hadn't. As a '60's youth I was buffeted on the subject by
the swirling opinions of my elders as "I say…" volleyed
from one generation to another. My dearest grandmother from deepest
Georgia was convinced Rev. King was Satan incarnate. Her daughter
eyed the ruler of our family with respectful silence and I with
fearful awe. The trail of violence my young eyes absorbed on the
nightly news was enough to convince me that whatever this preacher
was doing, it couldn't be good. I was sticking with Granny on this
one.
It wasn't until I left the nest for college that a new Martin Luther
King appeared.
One night while reluctantly plodding through the required reading,
Letter from Birmingham Jail, thunderous truth shattered my comfortable
certainty. Before me were words that destroy myth and misconception.
These were not the words of a shallow self promoter, but rather
the words of a brilliant well educated and courageous man truly
committed to "liberty and justice for all." Granny and
I had been misled.
I think others have been as well. Somewhere in the not too distant
past, I read a very interesting story in the Washington Post about
the naming of streets after Rev. King. It seems that many of the
streets, highways and byways that have been chosen for this honor
have been in predominately black areas. As a result, a presumption
exists that a Martin Luther King address equals a black neighborhood
and by extension a depressed neighborhood. Some businesses are refusing
to locate on streets that bear the name and others are resisting
efforts to name their streets after Rev. King using the smokescreen
of "costs."
You would think that after we shed the ignominious distinction of
being one of the last two counties in North Carolina that didn't
observe Rev. King's birthday that we would be all too happy to mend
fences by quickly naming a street after him. The proposal to do
so was put forth by leaders of the black community led by Rev. Naomi
Bynum who said, "Dr. King was a man of great works for all
mankind through the civil rights era and we would like to honor
his works and his memory." (Times-News 12/1/01) What controversial
street did they pick out? Why the one that runs right through the
heart of their community, from the Boys and Girls Club past Green
Meadows Community to Four Seasons Boulevard. Imagine that! A street
within their own community. Actually, it's a perfect street except
for three small problems-white business number one, white business
number two and white business number three.
I would propose in view of the Post article that the real reason
these businesses have written letters of complaint to City Council
opposing the name change is not because of burdensome stationary
costs but because they don't want to go from 745 Ashe Street to
745 Martin Luther King Street. These businesses are worried that
an MLK address might tarnish their image. They haven't read the
Letter from Birmingham Jail either.
Mayor Niehoff has generously proposed giving Rev. King the back
of the bus-urr, street where neither hide nor hair of business can
be found. Rev. King has been offered four blocks on one street and
two blocks on another somewhere in the better part of nowhere. A
back alley would probably make certain people happier. All I have
to say is, I hope it doesn't take us as long to find an appropriate
street to honor Dr. King with as it did to celebrate the holiday.
(Pres. Reagan established the Martin Luther King Birthday Holiday
in 1983 and Henderson County and Hendersonville began observing
it in 2001.)
So, dear reader, as we begin a new year, building from the ashes
of the last, I can think of no better words of encouragement and
call to arms than words from the Letter From Birmingham Jail. However,
please don't be satisfied with just these few crumbs from the banquet
table, read the letter yourself amidst winter's solitude:
"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the
hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling
silence of the good people. Human progress never tolls in on wheels
of inevitability;…"
"…all too many others have been more cautious than courageous
and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained
glass windows."
"Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension
in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths
and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and
objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies
to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise
from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights
of understanding and brotherhood."
"Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will
soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted
from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant
tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over
our great nation with all their scintillating beauty."--- Reverend
Martin Luther King.
Update: At the council meeting January 10th, City Council
courageously tabled the request to name Ashe street after Rev. Martin
Luther King citing the reason that this was such a "significant"
decision that more due care needed to be taken.
To my readers: If you ever wonder if I get
comments on these columns, I do occasionally. What are your thoughts
on the matter?
Email
Eva
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opinions stated in this page are those of Ms. Eva Ritchey and do
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