The President-Elect seems to be missing the point – the objective of Affirmative Action, and the reason conscionable activists like Dr. King advocated, stridently, for its (and similar policies’) administration as a rule of law. What Dr. King understood, which the once-junior Senator seems to be woefully unaware of is that Affirmative Action, though a temporary patch, can help mitigate some of the abysmal socio-economic conditions Blacks (and others considered minorities) are – and have been – entrenched in. King understood that a class-based system would inevitably render Blacks and Browns invincible, once again. It is for this reason, that King proposed that, “A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for the Negro,” to sustain any modest form of equality.
As anyone with a functioning conscience can see, there’s hardly a parallel between Dr. King and President-Elect Obama, save for skin-complexion – which is even debatable. Obama’s eloquence aside, his moral appetite has yet to embody the kind of insatiable thirst for justice Dr. King possessed. Who knows? Perhaps the future bears more encouraging analysis. At this point, however, not much is left to hope for. Come Monday and Tuesday, the President-Elect and his many emissaries would be unbridled in underlining the fantasy-driven connection between Dr. King’s “dream,” and Obama’s election.
Be not fooled, however, for it must be remembered that as Obama accepted the Democratic Presidential Nomination, last August, it was he who felt too uncomfortable with acknowledging the illimitable contributions Dr. King made, in paving the way for a little-known Illinois Senator. Obama would reduce Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy to that of merely “a young preacher from Georgia.” Happy Birthday, Dr. King. May your precious soul rest in perfect peace.
Tolu Olorunda is a Columnist for BlackCommentator.com.
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