MLK day 2014 in La Grande

MLK Day 2014 La Grande

Woke Up This Morning, With My Mind on Freedom!
Bill Whitaker shared the song, the spirit of song in general, and some flashbacks to his own marching in Atlanta in the 1960s to our small town gathering in which close to a hundred people joined for a march from Max Square to Ackerman Hall.

The event was headed by Jamarkus Springfield and the Black Student Union in collaboration of the anti-bullying cause of Faces For Change. There was also the presence of Bill Whitaker and with Health Care for All Oregon (HCAO).  Jamarkus put the lens of community support on the causes. Even MLK did not work alone.  He needed the help of the masses who demanded and deserved justice.  HCAO then reminded us that part of the reason MLK had a target on his back was of his support for universal rights, health care, and his being anti-military industrial complex.  Dr. King raised the question to Lyndon Johnson, why are we fighting a war in Vietnam?  Why are we not fighting a war on poverty, on injustice?   Bud Hill, speaking for his organization, Faces for Change, has witnessed the effects of hateful attitudes to an extreme level and has brought the message to the community, for it to be heard and experienced by all.   A gathering (tentatively June 7) in the planning stages to include a walk, concert and other activities to spread the message of the inclusion of all people into society. We, as a society, seem to need continual reminders of this sort of thing.  It is my hope that such events continues to push these messages into the public consciousness.
Other events of social conscience nature coming up include:
Walk for Warmth, Febraury 15 from 10am – noon, beginning at the Senior Center.
George Mann in concert, McKenzie Theatre April 17 at 7:00pm, by Health Care for All Oregon as a benefit for healthcare reform organizing.
Spring Fling by Eastern Student Entertainment, May 30 and 31.

Last Monday's march ended in Ackerman Hall, where the new dean of education, Dr. Easton-Brooks, gave a speech about community togetherness and the need for action. It is our responsibility to be involved. It is our responsibility to respond to the world with our privilege.  What do you do with your privilege?  How do you respond to the world?   What part do you play?   He shared this MLK speech:

 “I choose to identify with the underprivileged. I choose to identify with the poor. I choose to give my life for the hungry. I choose to give my life for those who find themselves seeing life as a long and desolate corridor with no exit sign. This is the way I’m going. If it means suffering a little bit, I’m going that way. If it means sacrificing, I’m going that way. If it means dying for them, I’m going that way, because I heard voice saying, do something for others.” 

Dr. Easton-Brooks shared the four classical responses people have to the world around them.
1. None. These people take care of themselves and as long as their needs are met, the world is a great place to be.
2. Acknowledging that other people struggle.  However, the predominant feeling is that they need to be able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. “I did it, you can too” mentality, which takes too far to heart that ‘all men are created equal’ and not enough compassion to the fact that everyone is different.  The world is complex, yes people struggle, but problems are not that simple.
3. Respond to people in need.  But with reservations.  Some people are willing to help others if those people convert to their own way of life.  For example, religious groups that will help others in exchange for them adopting a new faith, accept Jesus, become Christian, etc.  The idea is that ‘if someone mimics my life, theirs will be better.’  Such views are based on personal values, which is not a complete openness to others.
4. Going that way!  This idea is responding to people as they are, who they are, where they want and need to be in life.   This is meeting people at their level of needs and letting them use their own morals, standards.  In other words, letting them keep their dignity and personal liberties.  Dr. Easton-Brooks left us with the message to think about our own blessings and what we are doing to empower other people and then handed the mic over to Bud Hill, who started with a quote from Nelson Mandela.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion, [or his sexual orientation as Bud Hill ad libbed]. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”  

Other speakers brought up excellent points that thread together pretty nicely.
What is activism good for?   That’s like the opposite of asking what is war good for.  Sometimes, it feels as if we are preaching to the choir.  That’s OK.  The choir needs practice.  There needs to be a strengthening of ability to make impact, to have discussions, to know we’re not alone.   In this way also we may become more prepared for when we do leave our comfort zone.  And we do need to leave our comfort zone to gain new experiences and insight, knowledge and understanding.  We need to understand to have a sensitivity, an empathy.  No change will happen unless we demand it.  People in power do not give power freely.

“Power concedes nothing without a demand,” W.E.B. DuBois. 

Should we examine the causes of why someone is bullied?  Or do we examine the causes of why someone bullies others?   This probably needs to be examined on individual case by case basis for the best approach, but a sensitivity to all the causes of a problem should be addressed.  What’s perhaps more important is that we do not let abuses go unchecked.  When we see an abuse occurring, we must stand up and say something.  Not everyone is aware they are being hurtful.  They sometimes need reminders and direction.  And we need people to know that things matter, that others are watching. Society needs those continual reminders. They need to remember that even things that seem to not affect them at all are, in fact, intimately connected with their own lives.

 “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe,” John Muir. 

There is no reason not to try to make a positive change.   There is no reason to be a non-factor in the world.  By sitting idle, the world’s problems are further complicated and the inactive person's position is weakened.

“One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors,” Plato.

With a little work, a lot can be accomplished. “It always seems impossible until it’s done,” is another Nelson Mandela quote that was shared. In addition to a treasure trove of quotes and unique perspectives on the world, the event provided me the impetus to remember why I wake up everyday, why I go to work, why I do the work I do, why I volunteer at the places I do.  Because the doing matters.  Never lose sight of why you started the fight in the first place.  Always strive to get better and better, do more and more.

Here are a few examples of inequality and aggressive bullying going in the world today that needs demands made, just from my first four twitter feeds alone…  so, when you read the paper, watch the news and wonder what is going on in the world, ask yourself why you are reading the paper or watching TV and instead get active.
- The wealthiest 85 people in the world make more money than the poorest 3.5 billion people. That is the wealthiest 85 people make more than half the rest of the world.  From Forbes.
- In West Virginia “regulation” is a dirty word. From Crooks and Liars.
- Emails show that the UK helped shale gas companies manage fracking opposition. From the Guardian.
- Dr. Carl Hart: drug policies need to change. From the Sobriety Solution. (It’s been said forever as to be made cliche, which takes the importance from the movement. And if you think drug laws in this country are ridiculous, look at southeast Asia.)

That’s for starters…four simple twitter feeds with links to injustice. Until people start standing up to injustice, everyone, including you, will continue to be consumed by it.