Yesterday was the day we officially honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy as a leader of the civil rights movement. In most places we just call it "The King Holiday" not King as in Ruler, or as in Holy Savior but King as in the man's surname as well as the Hopes and Aspirations that he did not get to see come to fruition, also the ones that have yet to come to pass. In what can only be considered a cosmic coincidence the Confederate General Robert E. Lee was also born in the third week of January, Dr. King on the 15 (roughly 60 years after the Confederates death) and General Lee on the 19th. Not that it is hard to understand people are born every day, people who will make marks on history are no different, and it can not be denied that BOTH of these men made marks on history with similarities in the adversary even if not so much in the desired outcome of their causes.
I am going to be honest, yes I am black, yes I have particular feelings on the Confederacy and how I view it, it was a traitorous act and they lost, period. I don't really care about Lincoln's part in this(he has his own birthday celebration), or Grant's(who of course in honored in Presidents day) because I don't have to like someone you feel is a hero or did something who was heroic. Can I respect that a man fought for what he believed in even if I do not agree with what he believes in, yes. And as such I am going to examine the PROBLEM with calling it Great American's day.
The problem is while General Lee did serve honorably in the US Army up until the secession of his home state of Virginia from the union, he seceded with his home state. The reason we know the name of General Lee is because he was a confederate General it overshadows all other things that he did in his life, he fought AGAINST the United States of America. Which to be fair is not that rare a thing, if it is done in the courthouse, or the states house, or in the court of public opinion. On a battlefield though, we have such strong penalties for that for which yes he and his fellow confederates were pardoned but we do not forget the deeds we just forgave and chose not to put them to death for them. Do you think ENGLAND celebrates the 4th of July(I have to stifle a chuckle as I type that, they note it but it ain a celebration)? The war happened, the south lost, the north won, troops were pardoned, and we've had like a good 90+ years of the damn "South will rise again" talk.
In contrast Martin Luther King Jr. was born a black man in Atlanta Ga at the end of the 1920's. He became a preacher, was a learned man, and while yes he did fight against the cities, states, and government of the United States of America it was as a citizen, a citizen who wanted the rights he was promised in the very documents of our founding. Dr. King took to the streets, not with guns and bombs but with feet, hopes, prayers, and determination. Some nights he did not make it home not because the front lines needed defending but because in his battle on those front lines of ideas that were more than past their time he was sitting in a jail cell.
Again, the similarities of the men they both served well in their chosen fields one a soldier and the other a man of God. They both fought for High Minded ideals, one for the preservation of the Southern way of life, the other for the freedoms promised on many a battlefield, in a myriad of school houses, in mighty documents housed in our nations capital, and in the very pledge most of us gave each day in class. Our country was set up in such a way that if a majority of the representatives we sent to Washington, along with the President(or if the President was unwilling a 3/4's majority after that), as well as a majority of the states that our mighty constitution can be amended. I'm sure at some point in time in my life I will be on the wrong side of history, I am sure the wrong side of history looks stable, stoic, intelligent, and responsible. General Robert E. Lee was DEFINITELY on the wrong side of history, not because he was an evil man, not because he was a hateful man but because the time for the way of life that he was used to was MOSTLY passed. There are still remnants of it on life support today, but the OPEN ownership of other human beings as chattel property was over. There have been many arguments as to WHAT the southern states seceded over, most documents seem to show(no matter how elegantly it was stated) that it was slavery, people who have come later make it about states rights(which it was the states right to allow slavery, but ahem that ain what this is about), others northern aggression against the southern economy, as well as a drive to over tax them(because they didn't want to pay taxes on their slaves). And yes I know all southerners did not own slaves, doesn't mean they didn't benefit from slave labor or from the conditions of slavery.
As for Dr. King he was NOT the only Civil Rights leader at the time, nor was he the only one assassinated, the widows of Medgar Evars and Malcolm X, The family of Harry and Harriette Moore, and the Black Panthers want to have a conversation about Fred Hampton's death. It was a time of people tired of the weight of an oppressive system, and yes there were more than just black people marching with them as well as other minorities fighting for the cause of civil rights in their demographics(as they still are today). He was however one of the more beloved, he had a way of speaking to the moment, capturing it and giving it flight in your heart in such a way that it lifted you up to the task. Granted some people were lifted up to do a task that was not so noble or benevolent, I'm sure some folks ran to grab those hoses, loose those dogs, and swing those nights sticks in hopes of cracking Dr. Kings head and breaking the spirit of the people in the movement.
These men were both Southerners, from different worlds and yet similar ones. The separation of the black and white world was on open display in the 60's regardless of if you put 18 or 19 in front of it. One fought for the southern way of life, the other fought for dignity while living in the south, so if you NEED to celebrate the two of them together call it Great Southerners day, for it is a designation that both they and quite a few others qualify for. I could passionately argue as to why Dr. Kings day should not be shared with a confederate, but in doing so I would ignore the fact that for years it already had been so me cussing and fussing about it is foolish. I have often had conversations with people who were "born and raised in the south," which I myself was not, about their feelings for the flag, the confederacy and what they FEEL it stands for. I can stand on ceremony, hell I can stand on the benefit of who's side won, where we at now, and who's legacy has a more angelic tinge on it NOW. Because if I dare take myself down to a library I can find PLENTY of microfilm on people not being so nice to or about Dr. King. Again, the man spent many a day in a jail cell fighting for what he believed in, fighting for a cause that others either thought was impossible, foolish, or even unattainable at that time. So if I am to be honest about it, what is the difference between me demanding that my feelings take precedence and them demanding respect for a past they wish to celebrate?
Yes, people are all glowy about Dr. King now, but there was a reason he was locked up, had dogs sicked on him, stones thrown at him, being spied on by the FBI and other state and federal agencies. There were people who, while they didn't seem antagonistic were equal obstacles because they would rather have peace in the moment, then deal with the truth of a harsh reality. I'm not gonna pick on the state of Mississippi or the city of Biloxi, it is a State holiday which means elected officials voted on it. It was a city observance which means most likely City officials before the ones who ran into the backlash on this MLK day in 2017 decided to name it that. Yes one can now face pressure from social media, but pressure doesn't always work like you expect it to, if you have ever squeezed a balloon or attempted to pop open a bag of chips you know sometimes it comes out the top and sometimes you end up with a lap full. Plus how many of us are willing to be the "lone voice?" Notice I didn't say the lone voice of reason, because maybe you aren't, maybe you are just the minority position in an area. Even if you are currently right, if you are out numbered how long are you going to stand there and defend said position? If social media has show ME anything, it's that it doesn't always matter who is right, sometimes it just matters who's back up shows up quicker. Not a lot of folks are willing to stand and deliver in the face of overwhelming odds, I mean why should they things have gotten a lot easier over the years. And with that ease sometimes comes a certain lulling of essential muscles, if you ain ever had to hang in for a protracted fight you might find that some of your tricks and favorite moves don't last as long after the first few rounds. Are you willing to be the tree in the stream, standing your ground while faced with what seems like an endless onslaught that appears to surround you?
How confident are you in what you are saying? Are you willing to risk someone dragging you down in the mud, either by asking you constant questions, seeming to need just a little more information, or even not caring about facts instead just constantly spewing personal and most likely unconfirmable anecdotes. Because unless you know the person, were there, have similar training/experience, or are from a similar background how can you tell if they are lieing? On top of that, part of ATTEMPTING to have a civil conversation is to accept that the other person is going to be honest in the positions that they are taking. At the very least they are going to be honorable in that they will hopefully not waste your time with a combination of Devil's advocacy and goal post moving, which in this day and age of social media I can tell you is going to happen a lot more often than any of us want to admit.
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