Gayle's Joy in Life

I was a little eight year-old Negro girl when Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. I remember crying in the living room with my parents and my brother. Of course, we’d been through this before with John Kennedy and Malcolm X, two other men who gave us hope, as a people. But, while Malcolm was certainly articulate and sent a message of power and self-reliance, Martin spoke the words that resonated with Christians (which most Africans converted to as a matter of survival generations before); words of peace, Love and reconciliation.

During the 60’s we sang, marched and hoped for equality in the eyes and laws of white Americans. That Negro children might be educated in schools with the same quality of supplies (desks, textbooks, building infrastructure, and access to $ resources) giving them a possibility of Life beyond servitude was the deep desire of Negro parents and grand parents. Martin exemplified and amplified that hope.

With his powerful persona - poised, articulate and often the center of media attention - Martin was able to project the image of the ‘Negro Man’ that we knew lived in our people, out into the world. His presence commanded respect and we shared in that respect, believing it might be possible for us, as well.

Today, 42 years later, I continue to hold fast to the ideas that we can treat one another with Love, respect, Peace and reconciliation. And though many would say we have come far, I hold a different opinion. It is true that we can now work side by side in the bee hives we call offices and that in small segments of most American cities you can even find us living in the same communities. But, for the most part, we are still separate. Separated by class, opportunity, image and earnings, we have learned to pretend that we are equal.

My neighborhood is filled with African Americans who live the American dream; Mercedes Benz in the garage, children in private school and a 4-bedroom house in which to live. That is a good thing. My city as a whole however, is filled with children whose families live well below the poverty level. Their schools, while improving, are staffed and funded at the bare minimum. The services provided by the city are far less than those provided to wealthier communities. Less frequent bus service (though the poor use the service more frequently), more expensive supermarkets with inferior goods and substandard housing at above market pricing are all markers of poverty in America. Today, the average black woman earns 68 cents for every dollar earned by her white male counterpart. Hispanic women earn 57 cents. As a single, African American Mom I am intimately aware of the impact of this reality on my own Life and that of my child.

A Congressional Committee organized to investigate the Life Options of Young African American Males heard the following testimony in 2005:

• About one-third of male youth of color (primarily African-American and Latino) fall into what the Department of Labor describes as the “disconnected youth” category: young people who are isolated and have limited to no participation in the labor force.
• Almost two-thirds of the US prison population are persons of color, predominantly African-American and Latino, and predominantly male.
• Ten percent of black males between the ages of 25 and 29 were in prison in 2001, compared to 2.9% of Latino males and 1.2% of white males in the same age group.
• The Sentencing Project estimates that in some jurisdictions one in three African-American men between the ages of 20 and 29 are under correctional supervision.
• In the 100 largest US cities, 58% or more of the ninth-grade students in high-minority schools do not graduate four years later, and African-American drop-outs are eight times more likely to be in state or federal prison than are white drop-outs.
• Nationwide, African-American students are three times as likely as white students to be labeled mentally retarded and twice as likely to be labeled as having emotional disturbances.

None of these statistics take away personal responsibility for Life choices. But, if you don’t think a stacked deck makes it harder to make good choices then you are either naïve or heartless.

This brings me back to Martin, whose message was one of justice and equity. How far have we come, really? Do we embrace one another or continue to exclude and exploit? In 50 years will we still be waging war with anyone who pisses up off or will we focus on reconciliation, justice and peace? What will it take to shift our focus from consumerism to citizenship?

I don’t know the answer to these questions, but I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Until then, be well…

p.s. to read Dr. Martin Luther King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech (which is worth reading again and again) Just click on his name.