Rev. Kevin Smalls reflects on why the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. feels heavy this year and why we cannot lose heart as we continue to fight hard to keep his dream alive.
THE REV. B. KEVIN SMALLS, D.MIN.
Pastor, Southfield: Hope UMC
Growing up, I remember when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday was a jubilant celebration. And thanks to Stevie Wonder’s song “Happy Birthday,” which was dedicated to the efforts to make Dr. King’s birthday a national holiday, the celebration around his birthday energized a community of freedom-loving people. You heard the song everywhere: backyard gatherings, civic celebrations, and the radios from automobiles cruising along. It was so festive.
But this year, his birthday feels heavy. It doesn’t feel like a jubilant celebration. I must admit that I feel like I’ve failed, and in some ways, we’ve failed, to deliver the dream he shared. But we aren’t the only ones who have felt this way. In his final days, even Dr. King lamented how his dream “turned into a nightmare.”
There were several reasons for this. He felt abandoned by his close companions and advisors, he was ridiculed for his nonviolent strategy by emerging civil rights groups at the time, and he was harshly criticized for his commentary on the Vietnam War. He felt bitterly alone. He was at his lowest during the last four months of his life’s journey.
Now, in 2024, when the country is more polarized than ever, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs seem to be on the chopping block, and racial tensions have found sophisticated ways to exist.
I often worry that Dr. King’s dream is becoming lost in the haze of modern cultural nuances in the United States. The dream deteriorates when we decide that his principles of Beloved Community are too weak to stand up to a world demanding power and rule. We slowly erase the dream’s promise when we get stuck in enemy mode and criminalize one another for our views and perspectives. We cut off the possibility of Beloved Community when we aren’t honest about the story we have inherited as sojourners on American soil.
This year, the dream feels heavy. To some, it might seem as if it is slipping away while we fight hard to keep it alive.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who arguably was and is the conscience of our nation, met people in different ways. He challenged Black Americans to transform anger into the power of love that becomes kinship with one another. He challenged the overly zealous patriot, who chose to study war a bit, more to pursue the means of love and peace through international relations. He challenged white America to embrace the unity of all people, as we are “all tied together in a single garment of destiny.” He challenged the Christian church to accept that “the judgment of God is upon the church as never before.”
I’m not sure which of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s many perspectives finds you this year. It’s heavy, I know. Many of us can quote the “I Have a Dream” speech by memory now. Perhaps we need to dig deeper. In addition to marches, demonstrations, events, and services, maybe we could employ more contemplative engagements this year.
Let’s find a few moments to sit down and read Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” or even write him a letter or poem reflecting on your thoughts and feelings today. Watch a film connected to justice. Talk to your family about the work of this servant we gratefully remember.
However you reflect on this day, may we all emerge from it with the conviction that one day, the sons of former slaves and former slave owners will together transform the globe — or at least the neighborhood — with an undeniable commitment to the way of peace, no matter how heavy the work may be.
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Last Updated on January 14, 2025