I’m not sure when it happened, but “radicalism” has become unequivocally and unfairly linked with “extremism.” Well, probably obviously after 9-11, but in these times of hopeful upheaval, shouldn’t we uncoupled the two so that we can think about the radical changes we need to get ourselves out of the mess we’re in socially and politically? And what better opportunity to explore a contemporary meaning of radicalism than the commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday?
Not the neutered King of corporate “socially responsible” advertising. Every time I see those advertds featuring iterations of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s most famous—but not most powerful, in my opinion, words I deflate a bit. Be it McDonald’s, Sears, Coke, or Burger King the fact that these companies’ marketing divisions took some time out to slap together watered down ideas and reheated imagery the efficacy of Dr. King’s legacy fails to inspire me to make it a “Day of Service.” Acts of kindness should happen everyday and private citizens’ volunteering shouldn’t substitute for social justice that confronts the State on its failures to uphold its own ideals.
Too, events on college and university campuses, usually sponsored by Multicultural Centers, are often speaking to the choir (and there usually is a choir because Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Black History Month, and the Grammy Awards show are a busy seasons for black choirs). All of these examples fall under the rubric of the “diversity industrial complex” (DIC) that helps institutions embedded in discriminatory structures feel good about themselves because they are “managing difference” or encouraging “tolerance” with workshops, by showing or enacting Jane Elliott’s blue eyes/brown eyes experiment, or doing some trust falls with a knapsack of privilege strapped on. A “Day of Remembrance?” Sure, it’s important to remember past struggles, but let’s challenge ourselves to learn from those memories and think creatively about strategies to make change happen now.
This year, I decided to get off my ass and stop thinking about what I don’t like about DIC and do something different. I planned an event at (The) Ohio State University that I hoped would a) bring in folks who might not ordinarily do anything on Dr. King’s birthday other than take the day off and b) give people something new and compelling to think about when the actual day rolls around. The first part of the event featured a screening of At the River I Stand (1993), which is a documentary about the Memphis sanitation worker’s strike of 1968 and Dr. King’s introduction of the Southern Christian Leadership Council’s Poor People’s Campaign. This was a critical moment for the civil rights movement in aggressively connecting economics with civil rights. It’s one thing to sit-in, march, and be set upon by police dogs for the goal of integration, but it’s an entirely different upping of the ante to demand job equity from local municipalities and housing, income, and jobs from Lyndon Johnson’s administration. The potential of the civil rights movement to unite people across race to demand an “economic bill of rights” was extremely radical for its time. Then, as now, the specter of being accused of “communism” or “socialism”—by people who clearly have no idea what those ideologies mean—-was radical then and caricatured as extreme now.
For the second part of the event, we broke up into smaller groups co-facilitated by students and faculty to discuss: liberation struggles; labor struggles; nonviolence vs. violence as a tactic; spaces of struggle; environmental radicalism; and art and social change. These topics offered attendees an opportunity to think about both their own connections to the history of social activism in the US, but also consider what’s happening now through a fresh lens. The plan was for groups to rotate after about 20 minutes of discussion, but people were so engrossed in generating connections, they stayed rooted in their chairs. Far be it from me to disturb the groove.
Dr. King’s legacy, regardless of his personal human foibles, offers us a set of principals to grapple with in the face of the continued brutalization of poor and working-class people in America. What’s more, as the Occupy movement and long-time activists like Seattle’s Dorili Rainey know, non-violence is a strategy with costs. Dr. King had more than a dream; he had a vision for what this country could be if all its citizens are treated justly under its ideal of democracy. The national observation of his birthday would be a great day to reflect and plan.
It may have been naïve to think that people not already convinced of Dr. King’s message would attend Beyond the Dream, but if they did, perhaps they’ll have something to do on King Day other than let daytime TV court shows and payday loan advertisements wash over them. I know, for once, I will.
- Kimberly S. teaches social movement theory, social change, and cultural studies at Ohio State and Twitters at @blackfeminism.
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