“Will words become deeds that meet needs?”
Rev. Joseph Lowery
~SCLC
I got an email reminding me to watch Mrs. Coretta Scott King’s service live on TV. I am so moved at this occurrence. So inspired by the gathering of wealth and influence, faith and power in that big black church in Atlanta.
Jimmy and Ros Carter, Bill & Hill, Dub and Laura and Dad (where’s Barb) all in a row. Shrouded respectfully in Black. Paying much respect.
Senators and Congressmen and women. Sharptons and Jacksons. Bishops and Pastors.
The King children, sitting like solemn ducks in a row…the very same little children that we remember from vivid black and white images, mourning, but perhaps not fully understanding that their daddy was gone for good. Today they must know what the flags waving at half-staff at federal buildings nationwide mean.
Hopefully, there are classrooms full of children watching this as well, a real life supplement to their Black History Month lesson plans.
Now you know I had to hit ya with some highlights…I’m telling you right now, Oprah got something going on over there at Harpo, cuz I’ll be damned if Maya Angelou NEVER looks THIS feeble when she’s on O’s couch! Oh my, she looks so old today. Perhaps it’s just mourning her dear friend. Ok, I was wrong for that.
[BTW, Mrs. Coretta's Oprah makeover was amazing!]Did we pay for our representatives to attend this photo op? Did they private jet-pool? Did Barack have to roll with the Black Caucus?
I love how CNN brought in Will Jelani Cobb to co-commentate, as if this was in another language and he was the interpreter.
Is it me or is Bill Clinton taking this whole 1st Black President thing a lil far. When he called for an elevation in the state of the King Center, citing that Atlanta has the second “richest Black Folks in the country. What y’all gonna do?” I swear I was waitin for him to throw in “ngga” for good measure! He was so on point, tho. Hmmm...is he in an interracial relationship? Cuz any time Hillary tries to get her Negro on, she’s shut down like a Busta video shoot (no pun).
Do you think the real beef btwn Martin III and Dexter is literally like a few dozen sirloins?
Have you considered what YOU will do to carry on the legacy? We’ve been bombarded by politics and mourning, decries for peace and a renewed commitment to civil rights. But like Rev. Lowery, in perhaps the most charismatic of speeches on Tuesday, I’m eager to know, “Will words become deeds that meet needs?” ...Shout to Errin Haines, whose coverage I read in papers in 3 different cities on the road this week.
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5 comments:
i'm glad you were inspired. i was annoyed. i hate political posturing. yes, the right question was posed, but i didn't think many of the questions were asked in the right forum. this is not the time for you to attack the president. i don't care if this is your only audience with him.
Dayum, I hate making mistakes, but it was just brought to my attention that one of my punchlines was screwed up on this post. The one about Bill Clinton's interracial relationship. Ok, NOW that I've fixed it, it makes some sense...I hope. :)
I was inspired, bec we're so beyond "talk is cheap"... nobody's even talking anymore! Everybody's just blinging. So I was really struck by how long it had been since I had witnessed the virtues of Civil Rights truly spoken to the world. ...now this is coming from a journalist who thinks political news is a huge waste of time. It's controlled and monitored, and they report what THEY want reported. That's my opinion. But this very much felt like the very last time we might actually have a legitimate reason to talk about the same ole issues that we've been fighting for decades. Bec any time it's brought up there's a "bootstrap" backlash. It's just not sexy to talk about Civil Rights. Instead of talking about the poor we highlight the bourgie. No Child Left Behind is the new Brown v. Board. Interracial dating is the new answer to racism and discrimination (look Mr. Crow, the kids don't see color anymore!...uh, they do, but they just also see non-discriminating p*$$y). Those are the things we talk about now.
But as for the political posturing, I typically would agree, if not for the actual need for the dialogue. I tend to see it the way Rep. John Lewis put it on Ed Gordon's show:
"What happened was fitting and appropriate. It was not just a funeral, but it was also an opportunity to say what Coretta Scott King stood for and what her husband stood for, and what they gave so much of their talent and time to build a movement. And I think the people that spoke, some of the people that spoke especially, President Carter, Rev. Joseph Lowery, and some others, wanted to restate what Mrs. King was all about. She was a woman of peace, non-violence and love; and she wanted to look out for those that had been left out and left behind; look out for the poor. And I think some of the speakers wanted to remind the people that were there in power of what it was all about.
"You had the president of the United States, President Bush, and you had the secretary of state there, Condoleezza Rice, and they needed to get the message, and people around the country needed to get that message."
You're right I saw Dr. Angelou and was like that ain't the Maya we know. Maya on Oprah, and Maya in the pulpit was two different people.
LoL I'm glad Bill did call em out. How come we have so many rich African-Americans. If it weren't for Martin, Coretta, Rosa, Jessy, Joe Lowery, Medgar, Malcolm, Myrlie, Betty, and some others we'd most certainly still be at the back of the bus, in run down schools (oh wait that hasn't been fixed), but we most certainly wouldn't have had a seat at the table!
I know exactly what I plan to do to keep the dream and legacy alive, talk about it, but more importantly be about it. I plan to continue pursuing my education, continuing volunteering, continue being an activist in my community and continue reporting on stories which need attention. I am the beneficiary of too much greatness to let it die down now.
CNelly...why werent u 19 when I was! ;)
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