“Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.”
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
On this holiday weekend honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., I have been re-reading his key speeches and writings. Most of us think immediately of I have a dream, or his comments on hate “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.”
Today, I am focusing on a quote about tensions amid protest – that it is not the protest which causes tension, but only that it brings the tension to light.
I invite civil, bipartisan discussion on this post.
After the ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, there were outstanding questions as to whether desegregation only applied to education, or to all aspects of life as many cities in the south continued policies of segregation. Led by Fred Lee Shuttlesworth, the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights began demonstrations and protests to fight the injustice of segregation in areas outside of schools.
After losing numerous court cases, officials in Alabama started closing facilities rather than integrating. Probably the most famous official statement in opposition to integration, in his inaugural address as Governor of Alabama, George Wallace advocated for “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”
Shortly after Wallace’s inauguration in 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. joined Shuttlesworth and the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights in what is now known as the Birmingham Campaign. King, Jr. was arrested for his non-violent protests in Birmingham and was criticized by a group of Alabama clergymen for his protests which prompted his Letter from Birmingham Jail in reply, from which the passage above was taken.
I strongly recommend reading the letter in its entirety – it touches on a lot of aspects of criticism he received: the right time to protest, the reasons that go into deciding to protest, and how “lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”
I hope you find time for reflection today.
Sources:
WATCH: Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech – Insider NJ
King’s words still inspire nearly 50 years after his death | AP News
Brown v. Board of Education – Wikipedia
Fred Shuttlesworth – Wikipedia
Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights – Encyclopedia of Alabama
George Wallace | Biography, Facts, & 1968 Presidential Candidacy | Britannica
George Wallace’s 1963 inaugural address – Wikipedia
Birmingham Campaign of 1963 – Encyclopedia of Alabama