By Sharon Felton
I love Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Day! Our community comes together for a meet and greet, a march and a service. I love the diversity of people coming together for the march each year, from babies in strollers to adults of all ages. People from every section of town, different economic backgrounds, religious affiliations or none, come together to march in solidarity. We sing and chant and stop traffic for our march through town. It’s a wonderful exercise and we make it happen rain or shine, even in the snow!
After the march we head to a local church for a service. The music is always incredible and the room is filled with local leaders, children, students and adults from all areas of town. We come together to remember, celebrate and be challenged. The preacher is always engaging and thought-provoking. Their words remind us of Dr. King’s legacy as they prick our hearts and minds. They recall his words of challenge, his dream and his struggle to move a nation. It is a wonderful evening, and everyone leaves exhilarated and inspired, ready to make changes and build bridges.
Except we don’t. We head back into our segregated lives, perhaps more educated, compassionate or willing to take some steps towards our own education and repair work. But mostly, we white people go back to our daily schedules and continue to ignore that the world is still full of hatred and injustice for our black and brown neighbors.
We get so caught up in the “dream” of Dr. King, that we forget, or maybe don’t know, that what he wanted and worked for was actual change in practical systems. Change in how people were treated, how people were paid fair wages, had access to vote, access to quality education and jobs. He worked, he didn’t just dream and make speeches. He spent hours and hours meeting, talking, writing and marching. He worked with city, state and national leaders to make changes that influenced how people were treated and could live their lives in just and equitable ways. Dr. King worked, and if we want to carry on his legacy, we have to work too.
It takes work from all of us. We must have hard conversations. We must listen, speak the truth and believe people. We must change systems that are unjust and hold people down. We, as in white people, have a lot of work to do.
It’s time to stop just showing up for the lovely gatherings; it’s time to work. It’s time to repair the brokenness. It’s time to put ourselves in uncomfortable places and spaces so that we can listen and learn. It’s time to educate ourselves and stop relying on our black and brown friends to teach us because they are tired of repeating the same things. It’s time to build relationships with people outside our normal circles. Time to invest in genuine friendships and partnerships so that we come together more than once a year.
Dr. King, in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” When we are invested in each other’s lives and know what’s happening, we know how to pray or support, we know when someone needs a casserole!
Only once we do the hard work, as Dr. King modeled, will our communities change, our churches change, our lives will change, and we will be better for it. I encourage you to start today. Explore the Dr. Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice & Leadership Initiative, https://cbf.net/mccall-initiative. Here you will find books, movies, resources to go on a pilgrimage, or you can sign up for the Racial Justice Lenten Devotional. Watch for news on ways to join the McCall Voting Rights Campaign. Simply putting yourself in places to meet new friends and take the initiative to get involved in your community will bring change.
There’s much work to be done, don’t wait for another year to pass before you take action. Let’s make the world a more just and holy place for all.
Rev. Sharon Felton serves as the Congregational Advocacy Manager for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.