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16-01-06, 07:22 PM
If Dr. King Were Alive Today, What Would Be the State of Black America?
Date: Sunday, January 15, 2006
By: Monica Lewis, BlackAmericaWeb.com
It’s been nearly 40 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life was prematurely snuffed out by an assassin’s bullet. And over the course of the last four decades, black Americans have made tremendous gains, yet faced an extraordinary amount of hurdles along the way.
There’s no doubt that since King’s assassination on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., people have often wondered what would have been had James Earl Ray not succeeded in his plan to kill King on April 4, 1968.
Perhaps King would have continued using his influence to demand equality for all people, regardless of their skin color or social class. Maybe he would have thrown his hat into the political ring, working as an elected official to carry out his fight.
Whatever King would be doing and in whatever capacity, some black leaders believe that America – and black America in particular – might have a bit more hope in living out the dream that King was unable to see to fruition.
“If he were still alive, we would be a more cohesive community, focused on core issues threatening our survival,� Essence Magazine editor Angela Burt Murray told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “We’d have a definitive and actual plan on how would be addressing these social issues.�
Today, there are many blacks in positions of power, and King would be pleased with that, Murray said. However, no one can say that there still isn’t much work to be done, she added, pointing to public education, education and public policy as the key issues.
It’s no surprise that education carried a lot of weight with King, especially given the fact that he entered Morehouse College at the young age of 15. However, King would likely be disappointed with the current state of public education in our country, said Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association, America’s largest employee organization with 2.7 million members.
“Fifty-one years after Brown v. Board of Education, there are too many of our children are not in the position to have the opportunity that they need to excel,� Weaver told BlackAmericaWeb.com. The obstacles for many black children, particularly those in urban areas, include inadequate funding to support schools and pay teachers, overcrowded class sizes, unqualified teachers, violence in and around schools and a tragic lack of parental involvement.
In addition, four years after the introduction of the No Child Left Behind legislation, Weaver believes that our public school children are no better off than they were before the controversial policy was adopted -- nor has the onslaught of school vouchers to so-called better schools been a benefit for black children.
A true motivator, King would certainly be dedicated to making black Americans more cohesive and focused on seeing that the mission of the Brown case was carried out for all schoolchildren.
“He would be working for every child to make it possible to get a quality public education,� Weaver said. “I celebrate all that we have accomplished, but I am profoundly saddened by some things today. We have so much more that needs to be done.�
At the time of his assassination, King was in Memphis to support black striking sanitation workers. He was also heavily involved with the Poor People’s Campaign, a movement that realized the richest country in the world had more than a quarter of its citizens, black and white, living in misery. Had King lived, he certainly would be speaking out against the vast economic disparity in America, said Stephen Washington, founder and managing director of the Black Wealth Network, an online investment service for blacks of all income levels.
“I think we would probably be further along because, towards the end of his life, you’ll notice King had started to shift away more from civil rights to economic rights,� Washington told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “Economics is really where I think his next focus was going to be.
“With his leadership and the clout that he had, chances are we could all be a lot further along financially,� Washington said, noting how King’s work in the civil rights movement did a great deal in opening up certain roads that blacks have navigated their way through over the last three decades.
But there is no denying that, despite the prestigious titles and advanced degrees, most black Americans still see a wide gap between themselves and their white counterparts. According to the U.S. Census, all blacks earn .78 to every $1 earned by white Americans. The numbers are improved – slightly – for blacks with a college education. They earn .91 to every dollar earned by a white with similar education. King would not accept such statistics, Washington said.
“His organized leadership probably would be more effective,� Washington said. “Had [King] lived and had continued to focus on economic issues, he would have had a tremendous impact.�
Murray agreed with Washington, saying that King was truly committed to raising the consciousness of America and seeing that everyone had access to the American dream.
“He cared about the working poor, and I think if Dr. King were still alive today, he would be working diligently to make sure that we all had access to the opportunity of making decent money,� Murray told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “He was focused, and at the time of his death, he definitely had an agenda to address the end of the working poor.�
Washington said there are those blacks who have accumulated a certain amount of wealth and who are living the “good life.� But it is relative, Washington said, adding that the net worth of the average white household is $50,000, compared to the $4,000 or less net worth of the average black household. Wealth is associated with assets, and, for many, the biggest asset you can have is your own home, Washington said, yet home ownership is still just a dream for far too many blacks. According to the U.S. Census, 70 percent of whites owned a home in 1998, compared to just 45.6 percent of blacks. Such a difference in numbers is another indicator of the disparities in income levels amongst the races, an injustice King would undoubtedly not stand for.
“Home ownership is a big piece, and that’s our biggest hurdle,� Washington told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “So, in terms of wealth accumulation, from an economic standpoint, we’re just not there yet.�
With services like the Black Wealth Network or any other investment plan, Washington said blacks can begin to build the dream that King had for his people. With the man no longer with us, we can make it happen, Washington said.
“It’s really two pieces, individually and collectively,� he said. “We need to invest and build one’s wealth and the wealth of our family. But we also need to do business with black folks in our communities and make sure that we’re building up those businesses as well.
“The whole point,� Washington added, “is that we need to start with ourselves and say that we’re going to start to build wealth right where I am with whatever I have.�
A year before King was assassinated, Edward Brooke (R-MA) became the first black U.S. senator since Reconstruction. After Brooke left office in 1979, there wouldn’t be another black elected to the U.S. Senate until Illinois sent Democrat Carol Moseley-Braun to Washington in 1993. More than a decade later, Barack Obama, another Illinois Democrat, is the lone black in the U.S. Senate.
Had King lived, many have questioned whether or not he would have run for office or chosen to use his pulpit to lead people.
Louisiana state senator Ann Duplessis (D-District 2) represents some of the most devastated areas hit by Hurricane Katrina. Duplessis fully believes that King would have entered politics and done so successfully.
“I think that would have been the next natural progression for him,� Duplessis told BlackAmericaWeb.com. “He would have seen that, in order to do the things he wanted to accomplish and change, he would have had to be in those decision-making capacities.�
Whether it was mayor of Atlanta, governor of Georgia or U.S. senator from the Peach State, King would have been an effective policy maker, Duplessis said, who would have been pushing all black Americans to do better than even they thought they could do for themselves.
King’s sheer presence would be enough, Duplessis said, to make people react a little differently. Imagine, she said, how things would have been different in the aftermath of Katrina had King been alive today, she said.
“If he was here, with the force and the eloquence at which he was able to impact people, things may have been done differently,� Duplessis said. “The reaction may have been faster at the governmental level. I just believe that had he been here the whole response would be a lot different.�
While some Americans may not have been ready for King the Politician during the turbulent days of the civil rights era, there are many more today who would be willing to accept him as a political powerhouse, Duplessis said.
“You see now, in certain parts of the country, minority congressman are being elected in communities where whites are in the majority or black mayors being elected in predominantly white cities,� Duplessis said. “What you see today is that they want to have competent people and people who have vision for the country.
“It’s starting to manifest in a way that people are now seeing that, in order to truly get to the next level and get the kind of representation to get the job done, you’ve got to elect someone with like minds, not color,� Duplessis said. “You want someone who’s on the same page as you, whether they’re black, white, Chinese or Vietnamese.�
Murray agreed, stating that all Americans would have benefited from a world in which Martin Luther King, Jr. would have lived a longer life. Perhaps, she said, Americans would have been so enthralled with his work that they may have placed him in the highest office of all.
“It’s really something to think about,� Murray said of King being a presidential candidate and eventual Commander-in Chief. “Imagine if the country had embraced him as a whole and as a leader of the country.
“I think he would have been a wonderful politician and he would have made tremendous strides,� Murray concluded. “He very well might have made it all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenu |
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