By Odeisel

This year, like every year, I struggle to write something about Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday that will matter. I don’t want to say that Hip-Hop has squandered its opportunity as a dominant force because that wouldn’t be true. While the business of music has polluted and possibly stifled the promotion of socially relevant music of most sorts, the music still is being made and is able to be found. It just doesn’t live on the radio. Hip-Hop has also done its job spreading the world over, in places like France and Brazil and Africa. That spirit of defiance still lives.

I don’t want to chastise Black people for “dropping the ball” either. Because of the work of King, we had the Civil Rights Act and the last Voting Rights Act, both of which were less than 50 years ago. Black people have accomplished much in those years since we’ve had legitimate citizenship. I don’t think of Obama as a mandate or an equalizer, just the result of an exasperated America coming off the back of eight years of political wild shit. America is nowhere near “post racial.” We won’t be until we actually have that discussion. Watching them take “nigger” out of Huckleberry Fin is proof that convo is coming no time soon.

So I read and watched looking for inspiration. I hit up twitter and saw many of the usual purveyors of Black ignorance either cracking jokes trying to be ironic or halting their regularly scheduled hijinks to remember the dream. You see random quotes attributed to Dr. King and a bunch of dream talk. How Hip-Hop isn’t living up to a dream it never had. Hip-Hop is Black jobs. King died organizing a Poor People’s March. Trust me, he wouldn’t be as upset as people would have you think.

The most peculiar thing you see, is the below video:

[pro-player width=’425′ height=’344′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlvEiBRgp2M&feature=player_embedded[/pro-player]

No, it’s not the “I Have A Dream Speech.” It is a King more defiant than we are used to hearing; one aware of the paper that reflects freedom and the value of that paper but aware that the metaphysical value of freedom and the price to paid is less tangible and far more expensive. No one can free you but yourself.

My wife and I watched a sermon from T.D. Jakes Sunday. I’m not really one for televangelist but by the Will we happened to be watching and the theme of the sermon boiled down to something similar: in order to be what you aspire to be, you have to stop being who you are. We are what we continuously do and it stands to reason that if you want to be something else…you have to do something else. As king says above you want to be free that’s going to come from within, by who you decide to be.

It’s funny to see people so surprised that Dr. King would make the above pronouncements. People misjudge a man of peace foolishly believing that he lacks the will to take action. Find me a man that perseveres knowing his wife will be widowed and his children will grow with no father and makes the choice to serve the greater good and I’ll show you someone that isn’t dreaming, but is keenly aware of the value of time and life. If you’re surprised that King would be proud to be Black there’s not much I can say for you.

What people don’t get about Martin Luther King is that he decided to act. For whatever flaws he had as a man, his dedication to his mission was clear. He decided that he would make that difference. He decided that he was ready to die so that his kids would have dogs as pets, not agents of society trained to rip them apart.

Decide to act. Stop bitching. We have arrived at a point where everyone is bitching and no one is acting. We complain about things we don’t have and that makes us complainers. We wish for what we do not have that makes us wishers. And when we come up short it’s not the fault of haters. Or the government. Or some woman, man, or kids. It’s because when it is our time to decide who we want to be, we are merely actors and not act-ers. If you really want to honor the legacy of MLK, stop bitching. Stop counting other people’s pockets. Act. We are what we do.

R.I.P. MLK.

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