A Middle-Class White Guy Celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr.
I was working for a Fortune 500 company, and several of us were sitting in the plush lobby of a Manhattan hotel. We were representing our company at a trade show in New York City, and relaxing together in the evening. The group was mixed in race, and the conversation somehow moved to opportunities to advance in the company. The African-Americans began mentioning the problems they faced. I spoke up and said, “Look at yourselves. You’re sitting there in three-piece suits in a $200/night hotel and you’re complaining that you’re not given the same opportunities.” I couldn’t understand their comments, and was absolutely convinced they were wrong. They shook their heads and told me I just didn’t see it.
Three months later, I went to the office of one of the men in the discussion and asked if he remembered our conversation in New York. Not surprisingly, he did. I told him that since that conversation I had been consciously watching who was given which task and which trip…and I had come to apologize. “You were right,” I said. “I had just never truly paid attention before.”
The fantastic news is that none of that could have happened were it not for the work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Without the dedication of this Southern Baptist pastor, those people could not have been in the positions they held in that company. The horrible news is that somehow, inexplicably, his work got so far and then lost momentum.
Let us celebrate the progress that has been made, certainly. The United States is a far different place than it was in 1965. But King’s dream was that the day would come “when a man will be judged by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin.” There are pockets where that is the case, but it is not yet widely true.
To be fair, this is not just racism among whites. I’ve written before about the black pastor in a high-paying position in a large southern church who was called by God to plant a church in inner-city Detroit. The black pastors there are fighting against his reconciliation efforts because (in their words), “The last thing we need is white people moving back in here.” Bill Cosby is a fantastic example of a person who is using his fame and wealth to promote opportunities for young blacks, while also being an outspoken critic of black men who have abandoned their responsibilities as citizens and fathers.
But we feel the United States has greater responsibilities to the rest of the world because of our position of power. Likewise, white Americans have greater responsibilities to end racism in our own country because we have more power.
Rev. King was driven to his role not so much by the color of his skin, but by the words of his Book. God has made his feelings clear about racism in the Bible. In Numbers 12, we find Moses’ brother and sister bad-mouthing his marriage to a black woman. God confronted their attitudes directly, and struck Miriam with leprosy! But Moses—who could have felt vindicated—felt compassion for the racist in his own family and prayed to God for her.
Aaron and Miriam learned what attitude God expected. Why haven’t we?
