MLK, Trayvon and Jesus

Pardon me if this has already been posted elsewhere. I loved this article and wanted to share. Old time DUer who only comes around when I'm angry . . .

Rev. Ruth Hawley-Lowry

April 4 is the 44th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This week is Holy Week. So what do Trayvon Martin, Dr. King and Jesus have in common? No, this question isn't the beginning of a bad joke -- the answer is hopefully apparent. They were all killed in the midst of a political climate that justified fear and legalized hate.

This is a better question: What are we with the majority hue (though, as a reminder, we white folks will be a minority in just a few decades!) going to do about it? At what point do we stop clucking our tongues, saying, "It's a shame," and go on with grocery lists and yard chores as if it doesn't matter? Do we just pretend "It's a black thing," while we watch various news sources remind us that black on black violence is more prevalent than ignorant, trigger-happy "neighborhood watch" folks gunning down teenagers armed with Skittles and iced tea?

Really, truly, no longer do we get to be "neutral." As the Archbishop Tutu wisely noted during the Apartheid struggle, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."

Most of us who live in white neighborhoods pretend that it doesn't affect us. But yes, it does! As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." When I think that I get to relish "white privilege" while my black sisters and brothers get subjected to unfair arrests and inequitable education, then I am participating, de facto, with the very system that oppresses. So, enough justice talk. I know, we all get tired of hearing it, right? Especially when it doesn't affect us. And I know that a lot of folks are presuming that Trayvon will eventually become last-page news until we don't have to deal with it anymore.

more here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ruth-hawleylowry/mlk-trayvon-and-jesus_b_1400938.html