Jan 20 2019
As I reflect on a week that includes the 90th anniversary of Rev Martin Luther King Jr’s birth, I couldn’t help noting other stories of racial bias, and the pursuit of justice.
As The World Turns
Will America want to honor MLK’s dream? Lessons from two Kings.
When I first learned of Rev Martin Luther King Jr’s (MLK) mission in life, and his untimely death, his message rang true in my soul. There was little to argue with, and everything to revere. Along with peacemaking luminaries like Nelson Mandela, MLK spoke to our collective dream of a more just and equal world, where there was opportunity for every living soul to reach for the highest star they could see.
This week (and on MLK Day tomorrow, Jan 21), America pauses to reflect on that dream. Where does the country stand on delivering more of that dream to itself, and how are everyday Americans working to achieve, or thwart, it?
The more I delve into the history and suffering of the African American community, the more I understand the metaphoric and systemic chains that bind. MLK’s mission and message may now feel more anodyne, smoothed and soothed by time and some positive strides forward, but African American scholars like Peniel E. Joseph remind us that MLK was a radical figure, pushing society to see its ills and strive for its ideals. In light of groundswells like Black Lives Matter (and its resistance counterpoint in the alt-right movement), he frames our current moment as America’s Third Reconstruction, its third post-independence attempt to achieve full black citizenship and racial integration.
As for systemic oppression or discrimination, more conversations are happening to build better community relations between the police and African Americans (who are, wittingly or unconsciously, more likely to be stopped by police than a Caucasian American).
There is also a reckoning emerging in the Republican party where, according to its lone black Senator Tim Scott, “our affection for the rule of law has become conflated with a perceived racism against brown and black people.” The Senator penned these reflections when calling out Congressman Steve King of Iowa, for the Representative’s long history of making anti-immigrant and bigoted remarks, while simultaneously chiding his party for not rebuking those remarks more than they have. This week, Rep. King’s most recent comments lauding (among other things) white nationalism cost him his House Committee assignments.
But skepticism persists outside the Republican party, who see this move as too little, too late, after years of Rep. King’s unchecked rhetoric, and the fact that he maintains strong support among Iowa’s conservative base of voters. Iowa is also a state that plays a key, and early, role in picking presidential candidates – which empowers Rep. King to help influence who ends up on the presidential ticket. And so, for now, Republicans remain wedded to Rep. King, and his extreme views, in a political marriage of necessity.
But we cannot, and must not, forget the moral clarity that MLK embodied. Whether he was questioning the war in Vietnam, or calling for more social justice, his cause must continue to burn in our hearts, and his dream must persist in our spirit.
No compromise = no deal/paycheck
As the weeks-long government shutdown plods on, stories are now being told of the personal hardship that furloughed federal workers and contractors are having to bear. The pressures of the shutdown are being felt by farmers, tourism workers in the Everglades, and local charities and businesses in the Washington D.C. area.
But true to form, Americans are stepping in where their federal government won’t. 1800 GoFundMe pages popped up to help federal workers make ends meet, and two city mayors (one from each major political party) voiced how the federal shutdown is affecting their residents as a whole.
On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, UK President Theresa May’s Brexit deal, that she’d been negotiating with the European Union for two years, was voted down in the British House of Commons by the largest margin of defeat in history for a sitting government.
As BBC’s politics editor Laura Kuenssberg surmises:
“She has no majority of her own in Parliament to make her middle way through stick. And her many critics don’t agree on the direction she should take – a more dramatic break with the EU, or a tighter, softer version.
Those two fundamental and clashing positions have always threatened to pull her and the government apart.”
Laura Kuenssberg
BBC Political EditorOm Is Where The Heart Is
More women = more culinary richness
Chef Edward Lee has been on a mission of passion for years, to promote equality and diversity in the restaurant community. He founded the Women Chefs of Kentucky Initiative to mentor more women, and to have a “more balanced space exist for creativity, equality, ability and positivity.”
“What we’re looking for are young women chefs who are not only going to rise to be great chefs, owners, investors, what have you, but also great activists for the next generation.
At the end of the day, like, they have to perform as well. This isn’t a feel-good charity. And I have confidence in them. We picked the best that we found. And so they have to live up to that challenge.”
Edward Lee
LEE Initiative mentor and creative director, in an interview with PBS Newshour
News and Views
Thoughts on the creative process
I’ve been hard at work rebooting my podcast for executives, civic leaders and creative thinkers, to offer ideas and wisdom from timeless leadership greats. And it’s gotten me thinking about the creative process as a whole.
There are more “how to be creative” books out there than I’d care to mention, and I’ve even written one as it pertains to innovation.
This week, I dipped into Questlove’s* book Creative Quest, to see what he had to say on the matter. I homed in on his chapter about curation – I thought it would offer timely input since I’d soon be curating (different?) books for my podcast. I absorbed some new perspectives about being an artist vs curator, and on how (much) to present facets of yourself (on e.g. social media) without sacrificing your creative truth. And it’s given me new fuel for the work ahead. Thanks, Questlove!
(*Questlove is joint frontman for the Grammy Award-winning band The Roots, which has been serving as the in-house band for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon since February 2014.)
In the next issue:
I’ll be attending a couple of events, one on climate change and the other on addressing challenges in local housing. Will share some thoughts on either/both!
Till then…
Live well and lead large – Maya
(featured image from LIFE magazine)