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Dear Editor:
School children born long after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968 read about his famous I Have a Dream speech. Spoken on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. at the historic March on Washington in 1963, Dr. King cast a vision for a country where all people would be judged not by the color of their skin but the content of their character. His vision for equality for citizens of color was part of a larger vision for a country that lived up to its lofty ideals including “liberty and justice for all” and the inalienable rights for all citizens in “pursuit of happiness.”
This iconic oration is studied in speech and communication classes and is often referred to as an energizing moment in history. The eloquence and cadence of the I Have a Dream speech, which is rich with historical and geographical metaphors and facts, is often portrayed as a call for unity and justice for all. There is no doubt as Dr. King ends the speech, a vision cast of “all of God’s children coming together.” However, from beginning to end this is primarily a critique of America and its failure to deliver on its promise of a just and fair “Republic.”
In recent days we have heard calls for people who have criticized America to “go back to where they came from.” At a recent North Carolina rally, those responding to the President’s critique of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from Minnesota began chanting “Send her back.”
What is the honest desire of Americans who would chant “Send her back?” I believe that our misguided notions of national pride have clouded our understanding and appreciation for the role of critique and dissent in the shaping of a more perfect union. Had Dr. King been alive today and given an I Have a Dream speech, at what point would thousands of Americans chant “Love it or leave it?” As one who pointed out the stark reality and injustice of poverty amidst a country of great wealth, would his speech make it to the end when we all sing together? Or would the chant directed at a living prophet be different then the deference given a dead American civil rights hero? The I Have a Dream speech was quite radical in its claims. King’s speech was a prosecution of America for its shortcomings and hypocrisy at that moment in history.
Dr. King reminded a 1963 America that 100 years post the Emancipation Proclamation that, “The negro is still not free.” He described African Americans as “exiles in their own land.” Hold on, it gets worse: “America has defaulted on its promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.” This is not a veiled critique of America or a plea for sympathy for people of color.
This is an indictment of a country claiming to be great, while awash in societal segregation and economic disparity. “America has given the negro people a bad check, which has come back marked, ‘insufficient funds.’” This is where I imagine many Americans would silently or out loud declare, “Go back to Africa! America, love it or leave it!”
I believe the great genius of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and many others was the gift of calling America to live up to our highest ideals, finding strength in our diversity and a pathway to equality. This is a definition of an American patriot who loves their country enough to refuse to allow it to linger on the low ground of isolationism and contradiction.
If I told you Dr. King articulated a current popular protest line “No Justice, No Peace” would you believe me? In his I Have A Dream speech, King makes this declaration in the very country he loved and died: “There will be neither rest nor tranquility until the negro is granted citizenship rights.” As we discuss and dream and work for gender pay equity, comprehensive immigration reform, racial healing and pursuit of the common good, let us love our country enough to respect all people, leave room for critique and come up with a better response than “love it or leave it/send her back.”
How about a movement to resurrect the Golden Rule? I believe Jesus gave us the template in Matthew 7:12: “Therefore, treat people in the same way you would want them to treat you.”
We can do better, America.
Bishop Julius C. Trimble
Indiana Conference, The United Methodist Church