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Since I was a child, the holiday commemorating the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., has been important to me. I was seven years old when then-President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law, and eight, the first time the nation officially celebrated Dr. King’s life. In the fourth grade, the year before the first national celebration, my parents kept my brother and me out of school on Dr. King’s birthday to attend activities at our church. We participated in a day of educational activities teaching us about Dr. King’s life and the struggle for Black liberation in America. It was a day full of excitement and pride as we celebrated not just Dr. King’s life but the spirit of resilience, resistance, and pride that my community continued to embody.
At the time, I did not fully appreciate the controversy swirling around the idea of a holiday honoring Dr. King. In fact, during the three years before the first celebration, local and national attention focused on the King Holiday “issue.” Everyone had a strong opinion about why there should or should not be a holiday in honor of Dr. King. In 1980, the controversy inspired Stevie Wonder’s rendition of Happy Birthday, which begins, “You know it doesn't make much sense, there ought to be a law against anyone who takes offense, at a day in your celebration.” But from politicians to news anchors and from teachers to city bus drivers, many Americans did take offense at the idea. The opposition was so strong that around the country, including 45 minutes from my hometown, chapters of the Ku Klux Klan marched in protest of the holiday.
While federal law now guarantees yearly recognition of Dr. King’s life and legacy, there remains a persistent effort fueled by hatred, injustice, and ignorance to erase the truth of America’s legacy of white supremacy and subjugation of Black people. Some 40 years later, hooded men marching in the streets do not guide this erasure. Today, corporate executives, politicians, and leaders of public and private institutions work to oppose truth-telling as they embrace and promote our modern American mythology. They work overtime to gaslight us all, claiming an appreciation on the one hand for Black people and the rich legacy of our contributions that continue to shape the nation while working around the clock to outlaw reading, teaching, and talking about slavery, American Apartheid (better known as Jim Crow), the civil rights movement, mass incarceration, economic inequities, and so much more. I cannot help but wonder why they are so afraid of the truth. Perhaps it is because they fear empowered, subjugated Black people might find inspiration and strength from our beautiful history of resistance and overcoming. Maybe they fear that the truth will reveal their complicity and oppression as upholders of white supremacy, causing them to feel guilty or, worse, face accountability. But truth is akin to the rose that grew from concrete that Tupac described. It has a way of working itself to the fore despite man’s every gargantuan effort to suppress it.
Black History Month serves as a reminder of the many hidden and unsightly truths about America; some of those truths are distant, and others unfold daily. In an ideal world, these truths would not be confined to the space of four weeks; they would be embraced 52 weeks each year. But our world is not yet ideal. While some may try to hide the truth of how this country has acted - and acts - relative to Black people and all who live on the margins, the hidden truth is still true. If America is ever to realize the fullness of its promise and potential, it will only be when we are honest about where we have been, make amends for our wrongdoings, and work together to create an equitable society for all. Black History Month is an invitation to embrace our beautiful future.