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COMMENTARY: I Have a Dream? MLK Jr. Said We’re Owed a Check, Too.

I wasn’t at the 60th commemoration of the March on Washington. But I was at the 50th in 2013, right up front staring Al Sharpton and John Lewis in the face. I recall a great feeling of joy in the air. After 50 years, there was a sense of immense progress, chief among them a second term with an African American president from Hawaii. But whatever joy we felt was definitely short-lived. Three years later, America got Trump, the embodiment of the great reversal, a return to the politics of our racial past, where whites always seemed to win. It unfortunately means MLK’s speech has more of the ring of truth than it ever has.

Published

7 months ago

October 4, 2023

Oakland Post

Photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from the People's March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. (Wikimedia Commons)

By Emil Guillermo

“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation,” begins Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream Speech,” delivered 60 years (three score years ago) in Washington, DC this week.

More people know the end of the speech. But the other parts? The beginning? It actually starts with the image of Abraham Lincoln, a great president, freeing the slaves.

All these years later, it’s hard to imagine MLK could have dreamed up in his worst nightmare the situation the U.S. is in today politically.

In the race for president in the Republican Party, there are eight people running against one man who could be criminally convicted.

Four times.

It’s the criminally indicted former president, the notorious DJT, the only president living or dead with a mug shot.

Is he Public Enemy No.1? No, the former 45th president of the United States is just inmate P01135809.

No man is above the law, or above a mug shot. And Trump deserves it. This is the same guy we all heard on tape asking the Georgia secretary of state to find 11,780 votes. To steal an election? Let a jury decide.

Georgia is prosecuting Trump for his actions in an alleged criminal enterprise conducted with 18 others in an attempt to subvert democracy.

In the meantime, he still wants to be president again. And it’s no contest. A majority of morally bankrupt Republicans are still willing to give Trump a pass for alleged high crimes against democracy, simply because they think he can win the 2024 election.

And winning trumps ethics, morality and even justice in the U.S. today.

It’s the reason we must keep on dreaming.

But whatever joy we felt was definitely short-lived. Three years later, America got Trump, the embodiment of the great reversal, a return to the politics of our racial past, where whites always seemed to win.

It unfortunately means MLK’s speech has more of the ring of truth than it ever has.

Because the central metaphor isn’t the dream. It’s a check we’ve been given that we’re still waiting to cash.

“One hundred years later, the Negro still is not free,” King said in 1963, referring to President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. “One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.

“One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.

“One hundred years later the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land.

“And so, we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check.”

King continued: “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men — yes, Black men as well as white men — would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

“It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.

“But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.

“We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.”

The dream metaphor has stayed with us the last 60 years. But upon re-reading, the bank/check metaphor is more relevant today. It certainly connects to our real lives. Dreaming works too. But when you vote, you think about the economy, and your pocketbook.

Not whether you got enough REM sleep to keep dreaming.

You think of the price of gas. Your ability to pay the rent. Put food on the table.

For me, it’s the living metaphor from that same speech 60 years ago that has more urgency than the dream.

We still have a check in hand. And we are standing in line waiting for it to clear.

And we better get paid before a certain ex-president with the mugshot.

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. Get tickets to his one man show streamed live from New York. “Emil Amok, Lost NPR Host: A Phool’s American Filipino History” runs Sept. 6 and 14. Get tickets here:

https://www.frigid.nyc/event/6897:499/

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Oakland Post: Week of May 8 – 14, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May May 8 – 14, 2024

Published

4 days ago

May 10, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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S.F. Black Leaders Rally to Protest, Discuss ‘Epidemic’ of Racial Slurs Against Black Students in SF Public School System

Parents at the meeting spoke of their children as no longer feeling safe in school because of bullying and discrimination. Parents also said that reported incidents such as racial slurs and intimidation are not dealt with to their satisfaction and feel ignored.

Published

1 week ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church. Photo courtesy Third Baptist Church.

By Carla Thomas

San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church hosted a rally and meeting Sunday to discuss hatred toward African American students of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD).

Rev. Amos C. Brown, president of the San Francisco NAACP and pastor of Third Baptist Church, along with leadership from local civil rights groups, the city’s faith-based community and Black community leadership convened at the church.

“There has been an epidemic of racial slurs and mistreatment of Black children in our public schools in the city,” said Brown. “This will not be tolerated.”

According to civil rights advocate Mattie Scott, students from elementary to high school have reported an extraordinary amount of racial slurs directed at them.

“There is a surge of overt racism in the schools, and our children should not be subjected to this,” said Scott. “Students are in school to learn, develop, and grow, not be hated on,” said Scott. “The parents of the children feel they have not received the support necessary to protect their children.”

Attendees were briefed last Friday in a meeting with SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne.

SFUSD states that their policies protect children and they are not at liberty to publicly discuss the issues to protect the children’s privacy.

Some parents said they have removed their students from school while other parents and community leaders called on the removal of the SFUSD superintendent, the firing of certain school principals and the need for more supportive school board members.

Community advocates discussed boycotting the schools and creating Freedom Schools led by Black leaders and educators, reassuring parents that their child’s wellbeing and education are the highest priority and youth are not to be disrupted by racism or policies that don’t support them.

Virginia Marshall, chair of the San Francisco NAACP’s education committee, offered encouragement to the parents and students in attendance while also announcing an upcoming May 14 school board meeting to demand accountability over their mistreatment.

“I’m urging anyone that cares about our students to pack the May 14 school board meeting,” said Marshall.

This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library via California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.

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Oakland Ambassadors Strengthen Ties and Aid Efforts in Ghana

Oakland natives and esteemed members of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG), Jonathan P. Jones and Dr. Maritony Efua Jones, recently embarked on a significant journey to Ghana as guests of the World Martial Authority Ghana. This trip signifies a crucial opportunity to bolster partnerships, explore new avenues of collaboration, and contribute to impactful initiatives in Ghana.

Published

1 week ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Elder Jorg Klebingat, Flint Mensah, Richard Burton, H.E. Dr. Maritony Jones, Amb. Jonathan Jones, Elder S. Gifford Nielsen, Elder Alfred Kyungu. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

This trip signifies a crucial opportunity to bolster partnerships, explore new avenues of collaboration, and contribute to impactful initiatives in Ghana.

Upon their arrival at Katota Airport in Accra, Ghana, the Joneses were warmly received by His Royal Majesty Okatakyie Asafo Boakye III, the distinguished king of Sanzule Kingdom in the Eastern Nzema, and Etse Nyamedi of World Martial Authority, Ghana.

Nyamedi accompanied the Joneses to the city of Mepe, which had recently experienced flooding, to assess damages and engage with local leaders, elders, and youth regarding the city’s urgent needs after major floods last fall.

Key concerns and priorities identified by the community include comprehensive flood mitigation measures, agricultural support, housing initiatives, educational enhancements, improved healthcare access, and the development of communal recreational spaces.

The Joneses were also graciously invited to meet with leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at their headquarters in Accra. This meeting provided insights into ongoing humanitarian efforts in Ghana and explored avenues for collaboration to further assist Ghanaian communities.

The LDS leaders shared their prompt response to the recent flood, demonstrating their commitment to humanitarian aid by dispatching substantial supplies including medical provisions, sanitation items, blankets, and food to assist flood victims just four days after the disaster.

Additionally, Boakye extended a special invitation to the Joneses to his palace, where they were pleasantly surprised with a heartfelt recognition ceremony. Maritony Jones was honored as the Queen Mother of the Sanzule Kingdom in acknowledgment of her dedicated work, while Jonathan Jones was lauded and welcomed as the ambassador of the Sanzule Kingdom, symbolizing a meaningful homecoming to their ancestral land.

The visit not only strengthens ties between Oakland and Ghana but also underscores the collaborative spirit and commitment to meaningful progress and humanitarian endeavors shared by all involved parties.