As we remember and reflect on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life, legacy and the deep meaning of his martyrdom, i.e., his awesome sacrifice and assassination, his dedication to creating a beloved community comes into full focus.
When I was growing up, I didn’t understand what my father did for a living. I knew what he did was serious and important, not easily described to kids like me. I never asked questions about it, though I did try to figure it out by listening to him around the house, eavesdrop. I was drawn to his mysterious work because I sensed it was not only something my father did as a job, it was who he was—how he saw the world, what he believed in. These things were one and the same. I knew this because he never came home and put down his briefcase and officially put his work away, relaxed into dinner and home life. His work was truly all encompassing, present in the most casual conversations or when he wasn’t talking at all. And whatever this work was, I assumed only he could do it. It seemed unique to him.
In spite of the forked-tongue talk, doublespeak and patently racist ranting of the pretending President Trump and the White supremacist mob-like cheerleaders chanting hatred at his rallies, we must not miss the fresh, air-clearing and uplifting wind that is steadily rising and blowing our way. It is the transforming force of the voice, views and defiant struggles of the courageous four “freshmen” congresswomen: Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA); Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY); and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).