How many times have we as a people complained that we no longer have any good leaders? So often we proclaim that our problem is that we don’t have a modern day Martin Luther King. We don’t have a great unifier, a great non-violent mobilizer who is respected and revered by the masses. Well, I think before we make such an assumption, we need to have an accurate understanding of who Dr. King really was, who he grew to be and what he actually stood for.

History books and a Monday off in January have reduced Dr. King solely to be a man who had a dream. Yes, everyone knows that he had a dream. Most know that he wanted to see the day that his children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. However, there are many positions he took that the media doesn’t want us to know about. They make sure to recycle the same sound bites over and over again and mold our image of him as this safe, meek, peace maker. History books will have you to believe he was viewed as an American hero. They would like for us and our children to believe that he played it safely and was met with no opposition.

It is very problematic when we allow others to define history for us. We end up only knowing what they want us to know. See, for those of us who do not know, Dr. King was a very complex man. Yes, he wrote soul-stirring speeches and he marched and fought for racial equality. However, he also championed causes that were not quite as popular. Throughout his life his views began to shift and change as often do the views

of great thinkers and doers. He was a man with convictions. As he witnessed life happen in America his convictions grew stronger and he was not afraid to follow them. Near the end of his life he had lost the support and backing of Washington, and many white and Black Americans. He spoke out openly against the war in Vietnam. He was labeled a communist. He grew increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in the quest for racial equality in America. He was assassinated in Memphis where he was to attend a second strike for Black sanitation workers. He was certainly not out to win a popularity contest and if he were alive today he would not be deemed politically correct. Face it. Dr. King had radical views. I caution people to never allow mainstream media to be the medium that gives US our history or define who WE are. Look how long and hard of a struggle it was to get an MLK holiday. Here in Virginia we had “Lee, Jackson, King day from 1984 to 2000. He had to share a holiday with two confederate generals. Nice huh?
So here lies the problem. In addition to us not taking responsibility and doing all that we can collectively and individually to help our communities; we are waiting for a leader who does not exist. We are waiting for a watered down version of the truth. True leaders like Dr. King are not always popular and loved by all. They are not crowd pleasers. Dr. King did not help change this country by doing what was safe. He made changes by doing what was right and what was needed. We cannot allow other people to define our leaders. We will doubt the ability and sincerity of local grassroots leaders. We will doubt the abilities of ourselves as leaders because no one can measure up to this partial portrayal of the good, safe hero who had a good, safe dream.

On this day of commemoration please take the time to reflect upon this complex man and all that he stood for. Let’s honor him by not being selfish. Let’s honor him by being more involved our communities and the world. Let’s honor him by picking up a book and finding out exactly who he was.