The Drum Major Instinct

This year’s celebration of Martin Luther King Day was different for me. It wasn’t just a day off this time around. (And yes, I was the only one of my housemates who had to get up and go to work on Monday.) It was the first time I’d actually spent Martin Luther King Day with a group of people who were mostly African Americans. I was with people who marched with King and one who was in Memphis the day he was killed. Racism is a reality of life in all communities—rich or poor. Many times it manifests itself in more subtle ways among the rich. The first thing I noticed as I drove my car into the Campus parking lot on Monday was that all of the Hispanic guys were standing together, separate from the rest of the group. Within the bigger group of homeless people gathering waiting for us to open there were small pockets of white guys standing together among the black majority. This is no different than the way the housed divide up into different neighborhoods based on race. It’s not uncommon for me to hear something like “well I know you guys only help black people here,” or “of course you don’t do anything for black people,” or “how come you let those Spanish-speaking people in here? This is America.”

During the day, we had many activities to celebrate MLK Day. I was in charge of making table tents for the tables that included quotes from Dr. King. We had classes for people to attend, including literature, a motivational session, and art projects. I led a Martin Luther King trivia class, where we played Jeopardy-style. It was interesting to see how most of the people knew everything possible about Martin Luther King, Jr., while one young man who I persuaded to come knew absolutely nothing (he also didn’t know what Easter celebrated). But, we played on teams so nobody felt left out, and we had a really good time.

The best part of the day for me, was when we showed a DVD of some speeches by Dr. King. Listening to the “I Have a Dream” speech in the crowded day room was a moving experience as people shouted their “amens” and focused more closely on King’s words than I’ve seen them focus on anything else since I’ve been there. I looked around the room and noticed all the faces that were there—the oppressed people of today who people want to keep in ghettos. These are the people who we’re trying to keep out of our restrooms and restaurants and out of sight.

When I got in my car at the end of the day, I noticed that the Hispanic guys were still standing by themselves by the shed, and the white guys were still together, and the black people were still a little suspicious that we weren’t celebrating Martin Luther King Day to the extent that we should have. In the outside world, people were still trying to make English-only legislation and build border fences. The wealthiest 20% of people still owned over half of our nation’s wealth, while the poorest 20% only had about 4% while the gap continues to widen.

The dream is still a dream.