Protest in the shadow of Dr. King

On this, what would have been the 89th birthday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we owe it to ourselves to take stock of the great man's words. There are so many aspects of his work that have been forgotten, so many gains eroded by the ancient tides of tribal supremacy that our failure to learn from our history now threatens King's legacy.

I offer to you a segment of Dr. King's famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail.

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

By now, we should all see through the false accusations that peaceful protests at sporting events are somehow an affront to veterans, motherhood, or our national ensign. We know this because we've seen these tactics used by segregationists in the 1950s and 60s.

Sadly, though, we see tacit acceptance of these patently hollow arguments by people who should know better and probably do know better. It is for those I ask to review our national history with a critical eye - and remind yourself of King's frank words.