Today, the pastor who leads King’s church in Atlanta is now a sitting Senator, due to the efforts of Black voters. But his voice, much like King’s, falls on deaf ears across a majority of White America. Still, none of the members of Congress on either side of the aisle give voice to the solid consistent message of the Negro Revolution.
No one in Congress, the White House, or any state legislature reminds America today of the three demands made by the non-violent warrior King, who sacrificed his life battling segregationist policies and practices that protect white supremacy. On MLK Day, the nation will remember King’s “dream” while ignoring his reality. King didn’t start his iconic speech with his dream. He began by describing the “shameful” chronic condition of Black America.
Unfortunately, if generations of White American children continue to be denied truthful accurate knowledge and a contextual understanding of the ugly history that was passed down from their parents and grandparents, they will also grow to be adults who lack knowledge and understanding of the society they inherited. And since none of us can teach what we don’t know, future generations will inherit the ignorance of generations living today.
Without the truth, today’s generations of White Americans will remain virtually powerless to change the nation’s chronic conditions rooted in segregation and white supremacy, regardless of the explosions of protests across the country from those who are adversely impacted by the “racist” conditions of a society governed by biased laws, systems, policies and practices.
Unless disrupted by truth, each generation of White Americans will pass to future generations a broad ignorance of the society they inherited with little capacity to discern, much less change, the current societal conditions from which they benefit, but did not create.
To be continued.
