‘Where is the love?’

Shashank Chouhan

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skins but the conduct of their character..” declared Martin Luther King Jr to a crowd of over two lakhs from the footsteps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Almost as if in response to his wishes, the Black Eyed Peas sung to a nation struggling with post 9/11 racism: “…if you only have love for your own race Then you only leave space to discriminate Where is the Love?” More than four decades of Civil Rights Act later, the majority of Afro-Americans are increasingly finding themselves on a path to nowhere. If Martin Luther King had been living today, he would have led yet another movement for the dignity of his race. Born into a family of pastors on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King was trained to step into the shoes of his forefathers. But when a Negro woman called Rosa Parks was asked to vacate her bus seat reserved for ‘whites only’, something stirred inside Martin who had read in the Bible that ‘all men are equal…’ Borrowing his philosophy from the Bible and putting it into action through the tools of non-violent protest given by Mahatma Gandhi – his hero – Martin led the first great Negro non-violent demonstration of the US, the bus boycott. It forced the Supreme Court to declare segregation on buses as unconstitutional. There was no turning back. The long exploited, lynched, enslaved and humiliated lot of Afro-Americans had found their savior. King`s non-violent strategy was adopted by black students all over the South. Where there were restrictions over blacks entering restaurant, Afro-American students began sit-ins, which forced the authorities to yield to their demands. Student sit-ins were successful against segregation in public parks, swimming pools, theaters, churches, libraries, museums and beaches. King bore his cross and that of his fellow men through years of travel; appearing wherever there was protest, action, and injustice; leading massive rallies that captured the world’s attention on the burning vice in The Land of the Free. His call for immediate action forced the yet passive government to change laws that had cast the coloured people as second-grade citizens. On the way, he earned enemies amongst both the white racists and government agencies. The FBI tracked him for six years in attempts to force King out of the pre-eminent leadership position. Martin was indeed worried that something foul might happen to his children, but an inner voice told him to carry on. He termed it as God’s assurance and support to his cause of standing up against injustice. His approach of creating a ‘positive tension’ ensured voting rights and civil rights for the blacks. Martin Luther King was shot dead when he was in Memphis for a sanitation strike. Controversies over whodunit abound. Years later, calls for a review of the prevalent situation are disturbing a complacent American society. Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan are certainly Black icons but they do not represent the scenario at large. Although Martin Luther King Day is celebrated every year as a federal holiday in the US, the ideals he stood for and the dreams that he weaved for America, have failed to materialize. Unemployment rate amongst the working blacks is twice that of the whites, there is less education for the poor black children, the income gap between the blacks and the whites is far from thin, there is racial and religious intolerance and the black crime rate remains unusually high. Even though the Afro-Americans have had a major part in the framing of the popular American culture – from hip-hop music to casual dressing to Basketball – the blacks figure low in the success chart of the American juggernaut. The greatest democracy on Earth continues to debate whether it is game for a coloured President! Hurricane Katrina was another incidence when the government’s apathy towards Afro-Americans was exposed. The terrible disaster had struck a predominantly black state of New Orleans and brought the administration to its knees. It is alleged that while the blacks were dying of hunger, George Bush did not show the urgency that he would have shown towards a rich white neighborhood. A question mark loomed over racial equality in America as the UN asked the authorities to take care of the black population. Of course all is not lost. The legacy of Martin Luther King is that the black middle class is thriving. Last year Oprah became the first black woman billionaire (more gifts for her audience!). Condoleeza Rice is shaping the US foreign policy; black astronauts are flying for NASA, black spending power has risen above USD 630 bn. But the ghettos still remain –despised by King as symbols of exploitation. And so do segregated institutions. And Michael Jackson spent a fortune getting under white skin. King’s work is not over yet. In the words of an Afro-American from Washington DC: “Martin please know we aren’t there yet We still judge by the colour of our skin The poor still beg around us There is violence with foe and kin We oft grow weary, dear Martin But as the sun rises in the morning