A Reflection in Honor of Dr. King

In honor of Dr. King's birthday, I wanted to offer a brief reflection on social progress that I think Dr. King's writings, among other things have helped me to understand. Quite simply it is this: that systemic injustice goes beyond individual bad actors within a system, but is a structuralized inequity in the system itself; and that changing these systems is good for everyone. To the first point: That is to say, that that when there is a structural issue such as institutionalized racism, it is the system itself that must be evaluated. Even if we could somehow remove all the people who hold explicitly racist viewpoints from positions of power, the system itself would still disproportionately disadvantage the same groups of people, even without the willful participation of the people in that system. When people point out structural inequalities in education, criminal justice, and housing, it is not so much a critique of educators, judges, and landlords as individuals, but a critique of the system. Why is that distinction important? It is important because it illuminates the fact that in an inequitable system the actors themselves are often unwilling participants. Understanding such a distinction, then, helps the unwilling participants to be advocates of change rather than putting them in a posture of defensiveness. When I hear people say that aspects of the American Education System fail students, rather than taking a defensive position and saying that as an educator I must defend the system, lest it implicate me; I have the freedom to reflect upon ways in which the system I am a part of can change for the betterment of society as a whole. I may not myself be a bad actor, and those pointing to the education system as a structure are not accusing me personally of anything. I can then elect to be a proponent of change. Dr. King, I believe understood this. His movement was not so much about accusing the individual white people in his community, but rather about changing a structure that disadvantaged his people in respects to education, housing, criminal justice, union participation, etc. Indeed he wrote in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail (1963) "I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s [sic] 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." See, the complacency that defends the system is the issue for King, not so much the private views of bad actors. In a similar way, 61 years later, the greatest enemy of progress in a variety of contexts is not the private prejudices of privileged individuals, but the structure itself. What I have written seems intuitive to the individuals who remain disadvantaged by the system. As such, I offer this reflection more so for people like me. I am a cis-gender, heterosexual, middle class white Christian male. I may, and in fact do, participate in systems that are inequitable. If you are like me you do too. This is not a condemnation of our characters, it is an invitation to evaluate the systems we are part of willingly or unwillingly. To my second point, changing the system is advantageous for everyone. Over 100 years before King's historic march, former slave and statesman Frederick Douglass offered in "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" a reflection that slavery was just as toxic for the white man as it was for the slave. While many people saw slavery as advantageous to the white man, Douglass illuminated the dehumanization of the slave driver Mr. Covey, and detailed the gradual corruption of his master's wife, Mrs. Auld, as a result of being a slaveholder for the first time. He wrote, "The fatal poison of irresponsible power was already in her hands, and soon commenced its infernal work. That cheerful eye, under the influence of slavery, soon became red with rage; that voice, made all of sweet accord, changed to one of harsh and horrid discord; and that angelic face gave place to that of a demon." (1841) Thus the liberation of oppressed individuals is as advantageous for the oppressor as it is for the oppressed. So, if we are truly people of good will, if we truly desire the image of God to be manifest in all people, then we will be open to the critique of systems and structures that cause oppression. We will approach conversations about oppression and injustice with full hearts, clear eyes, and open minds. We will take a look at the structure critically and be open to hearing solutions. So what is my "call to action?" It is certainly not to self flagellate and to regret who you are, but rather to be open to the critique of a system, understanding that if you are open to the systemic critique, you can yourself be an agent of change and thus even be more free yourself. Indeed, according to National Geographic and the NAACP, of the 250,000 people who marched on Washington with King in 1963, a full 60,000 (25%) were white. These individuals did not see the critique of the system as a whole as being a critique against them as individuals. In fact, they understood that the pursuit of an equitable system was indeed aiding in their own liberation. They believed that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." (King 1963). So my fervent prayer is that we would be open to the critique of systems, we would recognize where others have been disadvantaged, and rather than taking the critique as a personal attack, we would "act justly and love mercy and to walk humbly with our God." (Micah 6:8) Those of us who are people of faith have been instructed by the prophet "to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke... to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood. Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I." (Isaiah 58: 6-9)