On the third Monday of January every year, one of the most consequential figures in modern history is honoured by countries all over the world. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr鈥檚 life and work in improving rights for the Black community is celebrated on a day known as Martin Luther King day.
While MLK Day celebrates Dr. King鈥檚 life, it is also a day where discussion about the future of the Black community takes place. Dalhousie鈥檚 Black Student Advising Centre (BSAC) facilitates the celebration of MLK day by hosting events every year. This year, the event was held as a part of their 鈥淏lack Lives Matter鈥� series and was titled 鈥淭he Legacy of MLK: Peacemaking & Justice Making in a Time of Trouble鈥�, with experts on the subject matter from within the community participating in the conversation on the topic.
The panel discussion was preceded by opening words by Oluronke Taiwo, the Black Student Advisor with BSAC. She addressed a need for action, calling for a stand against all forms of discrimination and bigotry. 鈥淛ustice does not come to those who wait鈥�, she said.
Her words were followed by musical performances from Zamani Bernard-Miller and Amariah Bernard-Washington, both established musical performers within the Black community, who sang 鈥淟ift Every Voice and Sing鈥� and 鈥淚 am Light鈥�.
An uphill battle
The panel consisted of Tari Ajadi, Asha Jeffers and Rachel Zellars and was moderated by Tiffany Gordon, a PhD student in Dalhousie鈥檚 Department of Philosophy who focuses on criminal justice system in North America. With each having different areas of expertise, they offered contrasting perspectives on the theme of the discussion.
Ajadi, a PhD student in Dalhousie鈥檚 Department of Political Science whose work focuses on policies and inequities that affect marginalized communities, spoke on Dr. King鈥檚 thoughts as seen in the 鈥淟etter from Birmingham Jail鈥� and its transferability to a modern day context.
He stated that very little has changed since Dr. King鈥檚 time, noting how eerie it is that modern-day problems faced by the Black community are similar to those faced by the Black community back during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. 鈥淟ike then and now, racism is a killer, it amplifies fear," he said, adding that racism caused Black families to live in a constant state of fear of the many ways they could be harmed.
Ajadi highlighted recent events involving mistreatment of the Black community, including the incident at a Walmart in Halifax that saw a physical altercation between a 23 year-old Black woman and officers of the Halifax Regional Police. 鈥淲e know that our police forces and our schools have broken systems,鈥� Tari stated, going on to say that society is 鈥渃ollectively complicit鈥� with regards to racial discriminatory issues.
An example to follow
Dr. Jeffers, an assistant professor in Dalhousie鈥檚 Department of English and Department of Gender & Women鈥檚 Studies, shared her thoughts on some of the messages that can be extracted from 鈥淟etter from Birmingham Jail."
Dr. Jeffers
She quoted Dr. King who said 鈥渨hatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly", going on to highlight the need for collective action in order to confront the increasing amount issues faced by the Black community. 鈥淚njustice must be rooted out by strong and persistent action,鈥� she quoted, going on to advise that action now requires learning from the past but that it should not be bound to the methods of the past.
On rising tensions between the Black community and governmental institutions and others for a lack of action on racial issues, Dr. Jeffers said that tension was an important part of bringing about change. 鈥淚n our troubled times, peace can seem hard to achieve," she said.
Dr. Zellers, an assistant professor in Saint Mary鈥檚 University's Department of Social Justice & Community Studies, commented on Dr. King鈥檚 role in creating movements that brought about change. She highlighted Dr. King鈥檚 1967 Riverside Church speech in which he spoke out about the political contradictions of the Vietnam War, causing a swell in anti-Vietnam War sentiment amongst the Black community.
Dr. Zellars
She continued by speaking about what it would mean to centre Dr. King鈥檚 1967 speech as a guidepost for the world at its current state and how to approach its problems. 鈥淭here is a logic of punishment in current systems of governance that is punitive and destructive," she said, going on to echo Dr. King鈥檚 sentiment for the need for compassion and nonviolence and to 鈥渟ee the enemy鈥檚 point of view and to hear his questions."
The panel collectively agreed that action was required by the community in order to prevent the encroaching tide of racial issues. As Ajadi said, 鈥渨e cannot succumb to silence.鈥�