By: Vincent L. Hall
“Ever since the birth of our nation, white America has had a schizophrenic personality on the question of race. She proudly professes the great principle of democracy and self in which she madly practices the antithesis of democracy.”
– MLK – “Three Evils of Society” 1967
“Say what, Brother Hall? Say that again. You didn’t begin our annual conversation by telling me they plan to inaugurate Donald Trump on my holiday!
So, you mean to tell me that they are going to commemorate my legacy of fighting for civil rights by installing a president who is a threat to civil and human rights?”
It’s always been my pleasure and privilege to engage in an annual socio-political deliberation session with Dr. King.
Revisiting his writings gives me perspective on where America is on its journey toward “liberty and justice for all.” We ain’t there yet!
Dr. Martin Luther King was displeased with the November election. He was even less amused to hear he was sharing his holiday with the inauguration of a man who is the antithesis of his life’s work and legacy. Dr. King said we had come to a “fork in the road.”
For the sake of clarity, a fork in the road is a metaphor for a deciding moment in life or history when the choices offered are usually diametrically opposed to one another.
We must decide what nation this is going to be. Will White America continue to mire itself in the schizophrenia of race?
Will “America the Beautiful” become a bastion of diversity or a state of coerced homogeneity?
Can the colors of God’s creation bleed through her whiteness?
Dr. King then turned to another metaphor. He said Donald Trump’s re-election could be the movie trailer for “A Tale of Two Cities.”
If you recall, Charles Dickens painted a portrait of the contrasting societies of London and Paris during the French Revolution.
He highlighted the extreme differences between the privileged aristocracy and the oppressed lower classes.
“Vincent, this metaphor is becoming a reality. MAGA’s unholy union with Elon Musk is only the beginning. Think about what happened last week when the two most prolific clowns in American history, Ronald and Donald, made their alliance public.
Ronald at McDonald’s agreed with Donald in the White House that the need for DEI, Affirmative Action programs, and the like are no longer needed.
“But we have to remember the scriptures, Brother Hall. They mean it for evil, but God will use it for his good!”
I thought Doc was about to quit on me, but then he resettled himself and gave me the third and final point.
Dr. King pointed to my bookcase and led me to a poem that I had not read in a while. It was the classic by Robert Frost called “The Road not Taken,” which he used quite a bit.
The meaning behind this metaphor is glaringly obvious but deeper than the surface. It says we should make decisions rationally and remember that each has consequences. Living with regrets and “what-ifs” is debilitating. I could see Dr. King in deep thought and consternation. Finishing a thought or closing a sermon for a Black preacher of his weight and wisdom is never hard, but he was obviously at his wits’ end with this one.
What do you tell the so-called middle class who have watched progress roll back on them?
How do you inspire minorities and women whose size and stature are further diminished by Ronald and Donald, who represent the government, and the private sector?
Donald Trump will place his hand on a bible he knows little of, just a stone’s throw from where a young unknown Martin Luther King gave his meteoric message to the nation and the world.
But Dr. King never misses. He went to an unfamiliar line in his “Mountaintop Speech.”
“Now, the other thing we’ll have to do is this: Always anchor our external direct action with the power of economic withdrawal.
We don’t have to argue with anybody. We don’t have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don’t need any bricks and bottles.”
Dr. King reminds us that in addition to protesting and fighting for our rights, we must deprive the Musks and “robber barons” of our patronage. And we never, ever, do evil as a response to evil.
We do what is good! We are at a fork in the road, in a tale of two cities, and we must choose the high road which is seldom the road taken.
A long-time Texas Metro News columnist, Dallas native Vincent L. Hall is an author, writer, award-winning writer, and a lifelong Drapetomaniac.
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