海角大神

Awaiting a panel discussion titled, 鈥淲hat if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had Tweeted the Civil Rights Movement,鈥� Franklin Henderson sits in the darkened聽Steve Allen聽Theater, talking about the life he didn鈥檛 have to lead because of King.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have a poll tax in聽Miami,聽Florida聽where I grew up or a lot of the other hurdles blacks had,鈥� says the retired, Past National President of the Ninth & Tenth (Horse) Calvary Association. 鈥淗e brought civil rights in聽America聽a very long way.鈥�

鈥淏ut not far enough,鈥� says his wife, Doris. 鈥淭here is still a long way to go.鈥�

The two comments echo the discussion today among scholars, activists, and African American community leaders in cities across聽America. A brief newsreel of civil rights marches, the fire hosing of blacks in the streets, and the discriminatory practices of the South sets the backdrop for the evening鈥檚 discussion of how today鈥檚 social media 鈥� as harnessed by several countries during the Arab Spring 鈥� would have eased the ability of King to organize his marches and boycotts.

But would it have lengthened his legacy?

鈥淭here are lots of whites, Latinos, and African Americans themselves who thought that with the election of Barack Obama, we had ventured into an聽America聽without racism,鈥� says history professor Maghan Keita, director of Villanova鈥檚 Institute for Global Interdisciplinary Studies. 鈥淵et, here we are, four decades after King, with encampments in public places still calling for the kind of equality he was after.鈥�

President Obama has weighed in with his official proclamation of the federal holiday.

鈥淥n a hot summer day nearly half a century ago, an African American preacher with no official title or rank gave voice to our Nation's deepest aspirations, sharing his dream of an聽America聽that ensured the true equality of all our people,鈥� says the presidential declaration. 鈥淔rom the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired a movement that would push our country toward a more perfect聽Union.鈥�

Interviews with scholars, academics, and sociologists across the country show that assessment under question.

鈥淔or most whites the playing field has been leveled and what has cemented this perception in the聽psyche of most whites was the election of a black president,鈥� adds聽Dr. Charles Gallagher, Chair of the Sociology Dept. at聽La Salle聽University,聽who studies race and ethnicity.聽Yet, he adds in an email, 鈥渢he social聽science data is聽unequivocal: institutional racism continues to shape the life chances of racial minorities in聽America. We have not reached the promised land聽MLK talked about, but much of white聽America now聽believes we have.鈥�

Asked what they feel Americans should consider on this federal holiday of commemoration, many say activities should go beyond celebration to self-reflection and individual action.

鈥淧eople should聽draw from the legacy of King the drive to live out their own American dream,鈥� says Brian Bellamy, who teaches race, religion, and identity at the聽University聽of New Haven. 鈥淒o something that no one in your family has ever done before. Go to college, start a business. His vision was that all Americans should be able to achieve the dream. Do what you can as an individual to make that happen.鈥�

Several mention this year鈥檚 commemoration should include a new push to聽audiotape, videotape, and chronicle the stories of King and the Civil Rights era while those that lived through it are still alive.

鈥淗istory is very slippery and easily lost and forgotten,聽聽so it is the archival function which needs to be accelerated, not just the focus on King鈥檚 great achievements,鈥� says Northeastern University law professor, Margaret Burnham, founder of聽聽The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ).

Her school sponsored a talk Friday by Isabel Wilkerson,聽former New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 鈥淭he Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration.鈥澛犅燘ased on聽scores of interviews she did across the country, Wilkerson聽spoke on where and how African Americans struggled to build new lives outside of the South. She also touched on how northern cities came to incorporate music and culture that might not have existed if not for King.

鈥淪he interviewed hundreds of people whose stories have never been told,鈥� says Burnham, 鈥渁nd that is a vital part of what others must focus on as well before it鈥檚 too late.鈥�

Asked what is less known or underappreciated about King, some say it was his ability to execute nuts-and-bolts organizing with diverse organizations that came together during the civil rights era.

鈥淭here is appreciation of his religious thought and his political philosophy of non-violence, but often overlooked is his management skills,鈥� says Dennis Simon, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University.

Professor Simon says King鈥檚 first post of importance was a diverse contingent of groups that included ministers, labor leaders, and a woman鈥檚 council, called the Montgomery Improvement Association.

鈥淭his is where he went into the trenches and learned how to deal with people, how to deliberate and come to decisions, how to develop political strategy, and how to frame it in a viable narrative for the media,鈥� says Simon.聽鈥淲e are all the beneficiaries of what King learned in this crucible.鈥�