It’s Martin Luther King Jr Day 2024. Our democracy is at stake. I’m not saying that for dramatic effect. Our democracy is at stake with the 2024 election, specifically, and through ongoing efforts across the country in local legislatures, county clerks offices, school boards and other government agencies. Anything related to equity and inclusion is under attack in schools and universities and is being phased out, if more quietly, in workplaces. Attempts to deny and rewrite history are gaining traction in school systems across the country. Anti-semitism and Islamophobia rhetoric and hate violence have escalated at alarming rates. There are families whose prospects in their home country are so dire that they cross multiple countries, traveling for months to come to the US border to find a country ill equipped and politicians ill natured, who treat them like cargo and not humans. Reproductive rights and freedoms are gone in many parts of the country. LGBTQ folks are being demonized and bigots are attempting to criminalize and erase them, from school plays to state legislatures. Meanwhile, white nationalists are “having a moment.” This is all they could dream of and more.
It is no wonder that sometimes my hope wanes. Sometimes I think there’s nothing to be done, or at least nothing I can do. I wonder if others relate?
As I often do, I turned to Dr. King’s writing and speeches, as well as other civil right leaders past and present, to find inspiration and guidance. I initially thought to look specifically for Dr. King’s take on the country’s work to fulfill the promise of our democracy, and then instead came across the last portion of his speech “The American Dream,” and it really spoke to the nature of struggle against the current state of our society1.
Dr. King referenced a common terminology for the time, the word maladjusted. And while we might use different nomenclature today his take is clear as ever:
“But I say to you this evening that there are certain things in our nation and in our world to which I am proud to be maladjusted. And to which I hope all men of good will be maladjusted until the good society is realized. I never intend to adjust myself to segregation and discrimination. I never intend to become adjusted to religious bigotry. I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few. I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism and the self-defeating effects of physical violence.”
And in taking this reminder to heart, this year, I am writing a letter to remind myself throughout the year of the promise to steadfastly remain “maladjusted.”
Beth,
Your racial identity and the privilege it affords you will try to tell you differently, but you must take action – consistent, meaningful action.
As a reminder, action is not:
- Shaking your head in dismay at the news or an online meme you find absurd
- Throwing your hands up in disgust
- Passionate discourse with likeminded folks about how fucked up the country is
- Feeling smug in your self-righteousness
- Writing scathing retorts online
These things may feel good; however, they are useful only to the extent that they are catalysts for actual action (and scathing retorts are rarely catalysts for anything but retrenchment).
It is easy to despair. It is easy to be overwhelmed. Those have to be temporary feelings. Remember that you can’t do everything. You can do something. So choose one meaningful action each day to ensure you do not adjust yourself to oppression. Here are some reminders when you falter.
Take time to be curious, learn and ask questions, and not just fall into the polarization that grips our country on everything from flouride in the water to voting rights. Be wary of platitudes and any place where nuance isn’t allowed entry.
Dig in with folks who disagree. Have real conversations focused on understanding, not on being right. At the same time, understand your motivation and where your energy is best used.
Remember to center people’s humanity, even when they have not. If you lose the ability to hold onto other’s humanity, you have lost.
Remember, especially when it feels hard, that people liking you has never been the point. Say what needs to be said in a way that someone can actually hear you. Focus on those “someones” that are in a position to enact change in some way.
Continue to find people to follow. There are so many brilliant, dedicated people leading and making an impact. You have the honor of following that lead and contributing to a larger cause.
Ask for assistance and guidance. You may need it more than you think you do2.
Give of your time, work and finances to your community. Be grateful for the people who can offer you the gift of receiving what you have the privilege to give3.
Remember what Dr. King called “dangerous unselfishness4” and John Lewis named “good trouble,5” not as labels, but as goals within community, working towards a shared maladjustment and a more just society.
Beth, there is too much at stake not to start from critical hope6. There is too much to lose not to act. Invite others to join you, today and each day.
- “The American Dream,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Speech given at Lincoln University,; June 6, 1961 ↩︎
- Thank you for the reminder Tara Raju ↩︎
- Paraphrasing this lovely bit of wisdom shared recently by my friend Margit. ↩︎
- “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Speech given at Masonic Temple in Memphis; April 3, 1968, night before he was assassinated ↩︎
- John Lewis, from a sentiment shared often, including March 21, 2020 at the 55th anniversary of Bloody Sunday: Speak up, speak out, get in the way. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America. ↩︎
- “Note to Educators: Hope Required When Growing Roses in Concrete,” JEFFREY M. R. DUNCAN-ANDRAD, Harvard Educational Review, 2009 ↩︎
bethreflects 