A Day to Celebrate by Expanding the New American Revolution

For freedom-loving Americans, today’s celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday is a dream come true.

Think about it--a national holiday in honor of the grandson of Georgia slaves. A holiday that affirms the struggle of a people yearning to be free, a struggle that still endures in many ways in many places. What an extraordinary opportunity to call this nation to account, and to challenge America to be its best self. We can embrace this holiday to add new meaning to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference motto: “To redeem the soul of America.”

King had a dream, but, more than that, he articulated a vision. While visionaries may never see the fulfillment of their ideal, the unpacking and setting in place of the vision is the precious legacy with which devotees are left to contend. Such is the case with King. So in a real sense our best celebration of his birthday is our willingness to work with his legacy and the vision that sustains it.

The first national observance of this holiday, which was 18 years in the making, comes at a time when America needs it most. We need this day as a signal of victory against pervasive social retrenchment. This occasion confronts the American people with an undying plea to continue the work of the American Revolution. The need could not be greater: Today, some think that the nation is enjoying economic recovery, yet others know that “recovery” has passed them by. America needs to celebrate this national holiday in an effort to reconstitute and reaffirm its commitment to the fundaments of democracy: that the well-being of each is the responsibility of all.

This day offers the nation an opportunity to celebrate peace with justice in an authentic way. On this day it is not necessary to manufacture artificial sentiments that play well to progressive people. For once we can claim that the essence of the message of a national hero--indeed, a people’s hero--was peace, with all of its far-reaching implications. We can now boldly and proudly assert with King that “a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” and know that his truism has become a part of the culture of American political thought.

This day should not become a national celebration that loses sight of the essence of the man it aims to honor. Celebration cannot be reduced to parties and parades without running the risk of doing violence to the substance of the man, his message and its meaning. But in our zealous efforts to pay homage to the man, we must not idolize the myth. Martin Luther King Jr. must be allowed to stand on the stage of American history as he was in life: a reformer in the radical tradition, one who dared to call for “a revolution of values,” and in so doing brought about a fundamental transformation of American society.

For those of us who continue to draw on the philosophy of nonviolent struggle as interpreted by King, his legacy endures as a source of inspiration for radical social change. King did not speak to, or for, a few; he mobilized a broad cross section of people against racism and every form of social injustice. He doggedly persisted in speaking out on the effects of racism and poverty here at home, as well as U.S. military intervention in the Third World; King warned Americans that it was in all of our best interests to join together to eradicate those ills.

Of course, his mind was too expansive and his politics too organic to ignore the crimes against God’s people in other parts of the world. Consequently, King’s support for the liberation of the oppressed worldwide moved him to expand his focus to stand up against the war in Vietnam and the complicity between the intransigent South African regime and the U.S. government.

This is a day to celebrate. And Americans must celebrate King’s dream if our nation is to live up to the ideals of its founders--ideals that our government is fond of recalling and so often reluctant to implement. A new American revolution was inaugurated by King’s work. The best way for us to celebrate his life is to expand the revolution to further democratize this land.