Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass were dedicated to bringing about an America that was colorblind, author Andre Archie says.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass were both dedicated to bringing about an America that was colorblind, Andre Archie says, but their work is being undermined.
Obviously, this is the height of foolishness, in my opinion.
Colorblindness only works if nobody is racist. As long as there is racism, certain people will have different experiences and difficulties as a result. Failure to recognize these differences allows you the problems caused by racism to be perpetuated.
That is fine on a personal level, but falls apart on the socio-political level. The government is expected to step in when people are discriminated against and that can't happen if they are colorblind.
That's not true. When race isn't a central focus, then racism stands out even more, and is appalling and shocking. When I was in the Army we were about as blended of a group as you can get. Most of us didn't think of each other as black, or white, or Mexican, or Asian. We thought of each other as our brothers in arms. When someone occasionally said something racist, every head would turn. You'd have a couple dozen guys of all ethnicities perk up and be like "WTF did you just say? No fucking cool, man". You don't need to make the central focus of every person's identity their race to overcome racism. Honestly, that approach seems quite counterproductive to me since it separates and isolates people by the color of their skin, rather than building a community bonded by their humanity.
The army is a bit different as soldiers are indoctrinated to identify themselves as military above any other self-identity. That doesn't exist in the civilian world
Now I wanted to say something about the fact that we have lived over these last two or three summers with agony and we have seen our cities going up in flames. And I would be the first to say that I am still committed to militant, powerful, massive, non-violence as the most potent weapon in grappling with the problem from a direct action point of view. I'm absolutely convinced that a riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt. And I feel that we must always work with an effective, powerful weapon and method that brings about tangible results. But it is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.
I always find it funny when conservatives think that Martin Luther King was on their side.
Dr. King very much was a conservative. Baffled you would think otherwise. He was a preacher in the South in the 1960s. If you had read any of his writings, he was very much a conservative man.
Now would he be on the side of the Republican party? Most likely not. His father was a proud Republican but King avoided association with any party. He wanted the ability to call out both sides.
Frederick Douglass was a former slave, not a slave owning founding father. You should definitely read about him, since he was an intelligent badass who spoke many truths applicable to this day. My favorite quote from him is:
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.
I like to point out that he worked for political candidates at a time when he himself was unable to vote. Most of the people he worked for couldn't promise to end slavery, but he understood that you have to take small steps.