Written for The British Blacklist 1st Septemeber 2013: http://www.thebritishblacklist.com/shakara-speaks-i-dream-come/
“I HAVE A DREAM – that one day…. little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers….”
This is often as much as we are used to hearing from the great Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s famed “I Have A Dream”speech. As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the ‘March On Washington for Jobs & Freedom’ (28th Aug 1963), excerpts of the speech are, for good reason in heavy rotation.
Though arguably the most famous speech in world history, Dr. King’s words have the unenviable injustice of being among the most unconsidered. Writers of history have popularly reduced the entire legacy of Martin Luther King to the four words entitling the speech, resulting in gross under appreciation for the magnitude and depth of his life and work.
It is necessary therefore, in answering the question “How far have we come?” – to remind ourselves what exactly King espoused and properly contextualize his dream.
The March on Washington coincided with the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation (Aug, 1863), through which President Abraham Lincoln supposedly “freed the slaves”.
Dr. King addresses this event as follows:
“Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon of hope to millions of slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice…But one hundred years later, still is not free.”
Going on to detail the social, political and economic realities facing Black America, Dr. King began exposing the fact that The Emancipation Proclamation made great promises to the descendants of enslaved Afrikans, that it had yet to fulfill. Though the “magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence” granted “inalienable rights” to every American, now “freed” Black Americans were to continue to be denied:
“It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked “insufficient funds.”
America proclaimed itself ‘The land of the free and the home of the brave’, yet it continued to subject its citizens of Afrikan descent to oppression. In response, Dr. King, well known for his “non-violent” philosophy still declared:
“There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.”
He went on to say:
“We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality… We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one… We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity… No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
These words are far more radical than we are used to hearing from the prophetic voice of this gifted orator. It was this radicalism that inspired Black people around the world to stand up and fight for their rights.
Little as it is known, the King led “Montgomery Bus Boycott” (1955), inspired a similar boycott in Bristol, UK – also during 1963.
The Bristol Bus Boycott, was waged against the “colour bar” i.e. the racist employment practices of the Bristol Omnibus Company, who at the time would not recruit any Black crew members. The great irony lay in the fact that after having encouraged the citizens of former colonies to help rebuild Britain’s post World War II infrastructure, the nation was now denying its Afrikan-Caribbean community jobs and housing. An irony further exposed by the fact that the bus company was owned by the Government.
The Boycott was organized by the Commonwealth Co-ordinated Committee, led by notables such as Roy Hackett, Owen Henry, Audley Evans, Prince Brown and spokesmen Paul Stephenson.
An effective reconnaissance mission allowed Paul Stephenson to demonstrate the nature of the ‘colour bar’. Having been informed that Omnibus had plenty vacancies available he set up an interview for a qualified young Black man by the name of Guy Reid-Bailey. They were to find that in spite of Reid-Bailey’s qualifications and the available vacancies, the interview was cancelled, once youth leader Stephenson, revealed that the would be interviewee, was in fact Black.
Thus the boycott was announced on April 29th 1963. Black men and women walked or arranged other means of transport to wherever their business would have them be, refusing to use the buses. In the face of personal and public attack and intimidation tactics at the hands of the bus company, the Transport & General Workers Union (TGWU) and even The Bristol Council of Churches, the Black community in Bristol stayed strong.
As fate would have it, the break through came on 28th Aug, coinciding with the “March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs”. While Dr. King would have been preparing to deliver his prolific words, the bus company announced that it was ending their “colour bar” discrimination practices. Within 2 years, British Parliament passed the 1st of many Race Relations Acts, making racial discrimination “unlawful in public places”. While it is clear that racial discrimination is still very much a reality, the example set by these young men and women remains a lesson in people power potential for effecting change.
So how far have we come? By examining Dr. King’s words we have certain indicators from which to make an analysis.
Police Brutality remains a serious issue for Black people in the UK, compounded by the fact that not one officer has ever been truly brought to justice. It was recently reported that unemployment among young Black men currently stands at 55%. Over representation in all levels of Criminal justice from Stop & Search to DNA Database, to prison, indicate a gross disparity in the dispensation of justice in the UK. Black people are disproportionately housed in inner city areas, suffering the impact of Guns & Drugs epidemic as a result.
In truth, there are too many similarities for comfort. The major difference seems to be an absence of a strong and visible mass movement addressing such concerns. While racial barriers have been broken down in many areas of British life, it seems reasonable to inquire as to whether this has come at the expense of a strong Black Civil/Human rights movement. Would Dr. King admonish us for having become “satisfied” with whatever gains previous generations fought for, opting for “rest (and) tranquility?” instead of continuing to be the “whirlwinds of revolt” shaking the “foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges”…?
These are relevant questions. However it is clear that though The Movement may not be as strong as it used to be, it has never truly died out.
Black organizations and protest movements were relatively strong in the 1980’s. The 90’s sawOperation Black Vote attempt to galvanise the Black community around the power of the ballot.
More recently the environment created by the “Con-Dem” government inspired the advent of Black Activists Rising Against Cuts (BARAC), campaigning against discrimination in the distribution of public resources.
Then there is the interim National Afrikan People’s Parliament, a coalition of organisations engaging in the process of building “a nationwide, independent, representative body whose purpose is to promote, preserve and protect the best interest of Afrikan people domiciled in the UK”.
All of the above are attempting to address various issues in one way or another. They represent a relatively broad spectrum of idea and approaches mirroring the tastes of the Black community at large. The lesson of history, is that while there were always those who stood at the forefront of a movement, the success of any movement depended on how well the masses of the people engaged, supported and reinforced the principles aims and objectives.
Though our time may not seem as urgent as that of Paul Stepheson & Dr. Martin Luther King, the ‘Drum Major for Justice’ words are still today as instructive as they are inspirational:
“This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children”
article for the british blacklist by @ShakaRaBKS