Monday was the national holiday commemorating the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. I am grateful for this way to honor the life and ministry of Dr. King as an essential part of our nation’s history. Yet there is also a danger that comes with this day. The further he recedes into history, the easier it is to focus on a few key quotes and to co-opt his legacy in ways that distort the reality of his prophetic message to America. By far the most cited quote comes from the “I Have a Dream Speech” of August 28, 1963 in which Dr. King dreams of a day ,”when my four little children will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” A vivid example of the distorted use of this quote happened on January 15, Dr. King’s actual birthday. It appeared in the text of Executive Order No. 1 issued by the newly inaugurated Governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin. The essence of the two page order is summarized in its opening paragraph:
By virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor, I hereby issue this Executive Order to ensure excellence in K-12 public education in the Commonwealth by taking the first step on Day One to end the use of inherently divisive concepts, including Critical Race Theory, and to raise academic standards.
Now in Virginia as in a number of other states, the academic discipline of Critical Race Theory has become a “dog whistle” used to prevent educators and students from confronting the reality and consequences of systemic racism in our nation’s history. Later in the executive order, Critical Race Theory is referred to as “political indoctrination” that teaches “what to think” rather than “how to think.” It goes on using the quote from Dr. King to emphasize how to teach the history of Virginia and our nation:
…we must provide our students with the facts and context necessary to understand these important events. Only then will we realize Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream that our children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
There is no mention about what constitutes the proper “context” for teaching the facts of history other than avoiding so called “inherently divisive concepts.” Conversely it does not take much time or effort in reading the works of Dr. King to realize that using the quote in the executive order is completely out of the context of his life and ministry. Here are some words of Dr. King from his 1967 book Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? that provide a more accurate historical context of his message. According to the executive order, it would also provide cause to ban him from being taught in K-12 public education in Virginia:
Why does white America delude itself, and how does it rationalize the evil it retains? The majority of white Americans consider themselves sincerely committed to justice for the Negro. They believe that American society is essentially hospitable to fair play and to steady growth toward a middle-class Utopia embodying racial harmony. But unfortunately this is a fantasy of self-deception and comfortable vanity…The value of pulling racism out of its obscurity and stripping it of its rationalizations lies in the confidence that it can be changed. To live with the pretense that racism is a doctrine of a very few is to disarm us in fighting it frontally as scientifically unsound, morally repugnant and socially destructive…But redemption can come only through a humble acknowledgment of guilt and an honest knowledge of self.
These words of Dr. King would certainly be considered “inherently divisive concepts” according to Executive Order No. 1. Yet in confronting the ongoing reality and systemic consequences of racism that many white people deny or rationalize, the goal is change and redemption and not “political indoctrination.” In response to the executive order, I believe that faith leaders and faith communities have a responsibility to: 1) stand with educators who oppose the order so that they have the freedom to teach our nation’s history without fear of government intrusion and 2) commit to teaching the history of and advocating for the use of faith based non-violent direct action for racial justice as the true legacy of Dr. King and the modern Civil Rights Movement.
The Cornelius Corps remains committed to being a resource for those committed to faith based racial justice and welcome ways to partner with individuals and communities who share this commitment.