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Editor’s note: Each year, United Methodist Bishop Woodie W. White
writes a “birthday letter” to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. about the
progress of racial equality in the United States. White was the first
chief executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race.
Retired Bishop Woodie White composes his annual letter to the late
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., in advance of the civil rights leader’s
January 15th birthday. A UMNS web-only file video image.
By Bishop Woodie W. White*
7:00 A.M. EST Jan. 17, 2011
Dear Martin:
I write on the anniversary of your birth with continued gratitude for
your efforts to challenge the nation to live out its creed of equality
and justice for all its citizens. I miss your voice of moral clarity and
your ability to inspire others to this noble cause.
During my lifetime, gigantic gains have been made in race relations. I
remember them law by law. It was not all that long ago, surprisingly.
America has been changed dramatically and fundamentally by legislative
actions that included an anti-lynching bill, a Fair Employment bill, a
Supreme Court decision declaring segregation in public education
unconstitutional, a Voting Rights Act and a Civil Rights bill.
So many paid a high price for these achievements. How can those of us
who lived through those turbulent days take them for granted or
minimize their significance? They remain prominent in my storehouse of
memories.
Lingering racism
Indeed, so much has been accomplished in such a relatively short period. It is a changing America, a changed America.
Yet, Martin, there is a persistent core racism in American life that
refuses to go away. In fact, over the past few months, there has been a
resurgence of racist rhetoric and activity. I thought I might be simply
overreacting, but friends and colleagues across the country share their
own observations and stories as well.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A 1964
photo courtesy of The Library of
Congress, Dick DeMarsico photographer.
View in Photo Gallery
Perhaps it is inevitable. Almost daily, television and radio
talk-show hosts spew their racial hate and stir fears. It is as though
they are afraid of racial harmony and a more racially and ethnically
inclusive America. Sadly, throughout our nation’s history we have
witnessed the exploitation of racial, ethnic and religious differences.
Martin, what seems most troubling is the silence from the voices of
good will. There seem to be few who challenge the Babel of racism, at
least in the public arena. But I have no doubt that the vast majority of
Americans have not and do not subscribe to this latest chant of hate.
Every day America moves toward a more full expression of a nation
where citizens of diverse racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds
interact and intersect routinely. Perhaps no other nation has been able
to assimilate such a wide diversity of citizenry.
It may well be that those who do not like this new kind of America
see the handwriting on the wall, which displeases them. Perhaps they are
unable to see character, only color. Perhaps they are unable to hear
voices, only accents.
It may well be what many of them mean when they long for the “good
old days” of an America characterized by discrimination, segregation,
racial dominance and homogeneity.
Old America is gone
While we may not yet have achieved the level of racial inclusiveness
and understanding we aim for, there is no doubt that the broken,
fractured, racially divisive nation — the one that many desire — is no
longer.
Still, old ways die hard in the hearts and minds of many Americans.
Such race hatred is very deep, even if it is not as broad as years gone
by.
Retired Bishop White speaks about principled living and making a
difference in his 2008 convocation address for Africa University in
Mutare, Zimbabwe. A UMNS file photo by Andra Stevens.
View in Photo Gallery
Martin, it was in 1936 that your fellow Atlanta native, author
Margaret Mitchell, penned a classic work, which some would argue became
one of the best movies of all time. She wrote of another era, another
way of life that divided Americans into racial castes.
Miss Mitchell was prophetic; that old America is no more. She wrote,
“Look for it in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a
civilization ‘Gone With the Wind.’”
I am persuaded, Martin, on this, the anniversary of your birth, that
you would be pleased to know that the recent voices of intolerance who
long for an old order, as well as those who may be discouraged or
disillusioned in the wake of such hateful rhetoric, are both
short-sighted. A new America has emerged and is still emerging. The old
one is indeed gone with the wind!
Now Americans of good will, of every race, ethnic group, faith and
political expression, will work together to achieve and perfect The
Dream.
Happy Birthday.
Woodie
*Retired Bishop White is the denomination’s Endorsing Agent for
Chaplain Ministries and bishop-in-residence at Candler School of
Theology.
News media contact: Heather Hahn, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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