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'Dad, why did they kill Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?" It's been almost year since my 7-year old son caught me off guard with his probing questions about the assassination of the famous civil rights leader. I'm just as certain now as I was then that his interest in King's murder was spawned by the assortment of literature his school faithfully distributes to commemorate King's holiday. I'm OK with that. Still, I can only imagine how difficult it must be for him to understand how a man who preached peace could be murdered for dreaming of a day when all people, regardless of race, creed or color, would live in harmony as brothers and sisters.
I'm glad that he's learning about King, and I'm particularly pleased that he is coming to understand that things have not always been as they are now. Perhaps in a few more years he'll understand completely that the opportunities available to us today were paid for with blood, sweat and tears. What disturbs me though is all the attention that is given King, and in particular his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech.
I'll be the first to admit that the address remains the quintessential commentary on acceptance, brotherhood and the great promise America has yet to fulfill. And I'd even argue that King stands as the greatest orator of the 20th century, and even perhaps all of U.S. history.
My frustration stems from the focus on one landmark speech -- an approach that trivializes both King's legacy and the celebration of Black History Month.
There's little mention of his great speech "Beyond Vietnam" (1967), in which King expressed a desire to bring the Vietnam War "into the field of [his] moral vision." Little mention of "I've Been to the Mountaintop" (1968), another stirring address when he encouraged blacks to use their collective economic power to force the hand of institutions reluctant to move toward inclusiveness. In offering this incomplete picture of King, the very institutions charged with educating my children are doing them a disservice.
But our public schools are not solely to blame. Some of the blame should rest on the shoulders of media outlets that perpetuate the status quo by refusing to publish stories that cause their advertisers and and subscribers the slightest discomfort.
Despite my sincere adoration of King and his contributions to the civil rights struggle, black history is much broader than King. Numerous others -- Nat Turner, Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan, to name a few -- have made significant contributions. Regrettably, however, their very names have become taboo among the mainstream, those who have the power to broaden the scope of black history and its celebration.
I'm not so worried about my 7-year old. There's time to supplement what he's learning in school with additional facts about King and black history. And besides, at his age, he's not quite ready to process some information.
It's my 15-year-old son that I'm most concerned about. I'm concerned about him because he is old enough to intellectually process most of what he learns. I'm also concerned that what he's been taught in school so far about King and black history limits his ability to think critically about the complex story of blacks in America.
Recently, a student leader at his school, who happens to be white, told him that some black students don't consider themselves African-Americans. My son was taken aback, seeing as how he was simply sharing his idea to write an article about Black History Month.
Maybe he was too quick to judge his classmate's intentions. After all, many black people in America originate from the Caribbean or other regions, and frown upon being called African-American. Sadly, however, the remnants of oppression remain, and second-guessing the motives of the majority is very often a reflex among the minority.
Our country still has a great racial divide, one that I believe will only be mended when we move beyond the niceties of King's "I Have a Dream" speech, toward the more difficult issues that have gone unresolved for what seems like an eternity.
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