All too often, our “history” month turns into a tribute to the past. And while the past is an important place to lift up it is, indeed, a tributary, a stream that flows into the larger stream of an unbounded future.
Now “45” wants a parade. He wants it in November, probably before the mid-term elections. Some see it as move to mobilize his base and stroke his own ego; others actually believe that he wants to celebrate and honor members of the military. It’s been reported that he wants the parade, because he saw a parade in Paris on Bastille Day. If he went to the zoo, would he want zebras and tigers roaming the lawn at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue next?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t plan to get involved in the Memphis garbage worker’s strike. He hadn’t planned to be there on the fateful day when he was shot on April 4, 1968. King was pressured to go the first time and found the garbage worker’s strike compelling. He promised to return, and felt it important to keep his word, despite a packed schedule.
I’m not ever, ever, ever going to excuse sexual perfidy (and more) in the workplace, but I do wonder why we can wink, nod, and grin about racial workplace misbehavior while we stand our ground about gender.
I Won’t Be Silenced by the Solar Industry