Change will not come if we wait for some other person
or if we wait for some other time.
We are the ones we've been waiting for.
We are the change that we seek.
- Senator Barack Obama, February 5th, 2008
We celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death just a few days ago. What did we learn, really? Since that time, two peaceful, respectful and respectable African-American real estate agents were arrested for trespassing while waiting for a friend in a Starbucks in Philadelphia. And in Rochester, Michigan - probably only 25 miles or so from where I grew up in Detroit - an African American young man, a 14-year old high school freshman who missed his bus, was shot at for knocking on the door of a neighbor's home to ask for directions. This is America, 2018.
I'd like to say that I don't recognize this America … but I do. It's the America that I've lived in all of my life as an African-American youth and now man. It is also the America that my white fellow citizens have lived in for all of their lives. The difference is that, now, thanks to the social media video revolution, we're getting to see what America really looks like quite regularly. And it's not a pretty picture…
And dare I mention the name of Stephon Clark? Shot at 20 times in his grandparents' backyard within a split second of being commanded to raise his hands. Shot eight times, seven in the back and the side, a mortal impact. For what crime? Perhaps disorderly conduct ... but now we'll never know. This, too, is America, 2018.
Of course, the list could go on, but what's the point, really? We all know the names of too many victims of America's foundational -ism, racism. And it's hard for us to acknowledge that this cancer, this reflection of our collective our dark side, is not only still alive and well in 2018 but flourishing and seemingly becoming ever more ubiquitous.
What happens next? Not much, really. African Americans and other 'woke' folk will continue to protest and most of their neighbors and fellow citizens will continue not to care … and more lives will be lost. This is the reality of America, 2018.
But it doesn't have to be, as the glorious March for Our Lives reminded us just a few weeks ago. The question - damningly simple, profound and vexing - is how do we lead ourselves to change?
And it will require a huge amount of leadership applied consistently for a very long time for us to change a pernicious pattern of social behavior that is as old as the ages and certainly as old as our country. How do we evolve into a people we've never been and leave behind attitudes and conduct that have been so determinative of our lives?
I believe that two types of leadership will be required, one now half a century absent and another continuing (and, we pray, flourishing) this very day. If we're going to change our society, we're going to need another MLK - or preferably quite a few of them - and we're going to need grassroots leadership from our young people as the Parkland young adults have so powerfully demonstrated.
Where do we find another MLK? My guess is that he or, just as likely, she is in a pulpit or a community organization somewhere right now. And much like the Montgomery bus boycott of more than 60 years ago, a catalyst, likely an unfortunate one, will bring him or her to fore. Were it that we didn't need to have tragedy to find new leaders....
And where do we find passionate, persistent and incredibly impactful leaders among our youth? Well, beyond the incredible students of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas high school, I suspect that they're in high schools and colleges and for-profit and not-for-profit organizations everywhere right now. If we'll but listen to them and, in fact, encourage them to speak and act. Are we ready to be led by those we presume to lead? Probably not. But our times demand it….
I pray that, every day, each of us looks in the mirror and asks, "Is it me?" And I pray every day that each of us sees a young person and asks, "Is it you?" ... and then, more importantly, prepares him- or herself to support the leadership of someone who is supposedly less knowledgeable and less experienced but likely arguably more passionate, more persistent and therefore more qualified to lead.
Sadly, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will never come again … but he is in us. Thankfully, passionate, persistent and committed young people are everywhere today - it's so wonderful and fortunate that they're already here if we choose to be aware of them. So let's stop waiting on Martin and realize that we're all the creators of a much greater America, and, indeed, world. I am the next MLK. You are the next MLK. And every young person in America can be the next MLK, if we but recognize them and commit to the better world that they deserve....
Maturity includes the recognition that
no one is going to see anything in us
that we don't see in ourselves.
Stop waiting for a producer.
Produce yourself.
- Marianne Williamson
