MLK day, January 21, 2008
I went on the MLK Day march this January. I loved the mix of skin colors--all shades of brown, red, yellow, white. I wondered what Dr. King himself would have thought about the cacophony of signs:
******
Buddhists for Peace Let Freedom Ring, End Racism, Poverty & War
Stop HIV: Get Involved West Seattle Neighbors for Peace and Justice
Veterans for Peace Immigrants Workers Taxpayers--we are human, too.
Impeach Bush Kucinich for President Jobs for Justice
Put MLK on this $20 bill Stop Racism Now! Obama for President
Palestinians have a dream, too: End Apartheid! I Miss America
Alternative Schools Iranian Americans for Equality, Peace, Justice
Stop the ICE Raids, no more deportation Freedom Socialist Party
Stop demolition of Palestinian houses John Edwards for President
Class struggle against the imperial war machine: stop the illegal and unjust war
Jobs, housing and healthcare are human rights No More War!
We are all born free and equal Seattle Longshoremen march for Justice
Seattle University Black Student Union Street Pavers/Tunnel Workers
Public Health Workers say troops out now! Patricia Troncoso Pobles/Political Prisoner
No Iraq War Nuclear Deterrence is Terrorism Jobs with Justice
Kadima: a Progressive Jewish Community Human Needs Not War
Justice works: restore dignity, restore democracy, restore the right to vote
*****
That's just how we looked, moving down Rainier Avenue, one big, random chunk of marchers carrying a jumble of messages and signs. We all seemed to have our agendas: one non-marcher even displayed a personal vendetta from a pedestrian overpass: Boycott Money Tree.
It's at the core of everything now, so many voices, so diluted, so peripheral. We assembled, and with our signs and calls and cheers, we carried forward our individual, determined ideals with congenial dignity. Would Dr. King be proud? Is it what he intended? I like to believe he would have hoped his message was not consigned to a peripheral, once-a-year celebration. I like to believe he hoped for real, systemic, permanent change. Clearly, his vision is not yet realized.
