not getting the idea

Around the United States Monday, people and institutions were called on to remember the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose prophetic voice galvanized the Civil Rights movement and forced America to face its jim crow ideas of justice and deal with its racism.

As Real Live Preacher notes in a blog entry today, not every quite grasps the subtle nuances of this bit of history. Some librarians, for instance, apparently think that Dr. King nailed 95 theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg, sparking the Proestant Reformation.

A friend of mine, upon visiting the entry in question, observed that his employer marked the holiday by giving out cupcakes, some with white icing, and some with chocolate. As he ate the cupake, he pondered how senseless it was to honor Dr. King's life work with something as empty and meaningless as cupcakes.

But then I reflected that Dr. King would have probably enjoyed a cupcake or two, and let it rest. He would probably be gratified to know that, given [my employer's] integrated labor force and management staff, the need for marches had been reduced to the need for a memorial cupcake.

Still, as I asked him, if that's the case, why was the chocolate icing mixed in a different bowl from the white icing? (Either that, or the chocolate icing was thoroughly washed out of the bowl before they put white icing in.) And I'll bet there were separate trays for the white- and chocolate-iced cupcakes.

In all seriousness, I think the United States as a nation has made a great deal of progress since the days of segregation. Giants like Rosa Parks and Dr. King have cast their long shadows down the corridors of history, and we're all marked by their coming ... and by their passing.

Nonetheless, we have a lot further to go. I have friends who have been pulled over for "driving while black," and I doubt I'll ever forget the racist remarks I've heard as a reporter, like the fellow at a car show who complained that all the n*gg*rs who drive BMW's have ruined the car for him, the police captain who referred to Arabs as "ragheads" or the mayor who referred to his predecessor as a "stinking Jew." Nor can I forget friends of mine who have been called faggots or dykes because of their sexual orienation.

We've made progress, but we have a lot further to go.