Freedom is a Constant Struggle

Memphis, Tennessee, USA – October 3, 2012: The exterior of Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in downtown Memphis. The Lorraine Motel was the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr on April 4, 1968 as he stood in front of Room 306.

The tragedy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination is embedded in our cultural fabric: another moral leader lost to us because of his revolutionary actions. We can honor his death by remembering his life and legacy. We’ve come far since Selma, but have much further to go to achieve racial equality in our society. As the North Carolina pastor, Reverend William Barber ll PhD, said:

“The one thing that would be dishonorable for us is to bring all this attention to the assassination of Dr. King and not have a resurrection of the efforts and the unfinished business dealing with systemic racism, systemic poverty.”

Today, just as in Selma in 1965, we worry that our black teen boys will get home safely. According to an an analysis by Pro Publica, a young black man is at a 10 to 40 times greater risk of being killed by a police officer than a young white man.

School Segregation on the Rise

In 1954, the US Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case of Brown vs.The Board of Education that public school segregation was inherently unconstitutional. And, yet, today school segregation is on the rise. According to a recent New York Times article:

More than half of the nation’s schoolchildren are in racially concentrated districts, where over 75 percent of students are either white or nonwhite.

Here’s an interactive map of the US showing the uneven distribution and black and white students across schools.

Voter Suppression on the Rise

At the time of Selma, poll taxes and literacy tests—as well as intimidation, murder and assault— were employed to deny black citizens the right to vote. As of January 2020, 34 states enforce (or were scheduled to begin enforcing) voter identification requirements. A total of 19 of these states require voters to present photo identification, while others accept other forms of identification.

It is exactly these kinds of ID laws that prohibited African Americans from voting in Mississippi and the South prior to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Everyone does not have a photo ID and those who don’t are more likely to vote Democrat. In North Carolina, voter suppression laws, including restrictions on early voting, have been found to be blatantly partisan.

In fact, in-person voter impersonation is virtually non-existent. Extensive research by the Brennan Center for Justice reveals that voter fraud is a myth.

A Lot More Needs to be Done

According to a recent Pew Foundation poll, “King’s Dream Remains an Elusive Goal: Many Americans See Racial Disparities,” 49% of Americans say that in terms of racial equality, “a lot more” needs to be done.” And yet, according to the survey, the majority of people—73% of blacks and 82% of whites—say the two races generally get along pretty well. According to Pew:

The analysis finds that the economic gulf between blacks and whites that was present half a century ago largely remains. When it comes to household income and household wealth, the gaps between blacks and whites have widened. On measures such as high school completion and life expectancy, they have narrowed. On other measures, including poverty and homeownership rates, the gaps are roughly the same as they were 40 years ago.