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The Arc of the Moral Universe, From Memphis to Wall Street
The national memorial to Martin Luther King Jr. was dedicated last Sunday. President Barack Obama said of Dr. King, “If he were alive today, I believe he would remind us that the unemployed worker can rightly challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonizing all who work there.” The dedication occurred amidst the increasingly popular and increasingly global Occupy Wall Street movement. What Obama left unsaid is that King, were he alive, would most likely be protesting Obama administration policies.
Not far from the dedication ceremony, Cornel West, preacher, professor, writer and activist, was being arrested on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. He said, before being hauled off to jail: “We want to bear witness today that we know the relation between corporate greed and what goes on too often in the Supreme Court decisions. … We will not allow this day of Martin Luther King Jr.‘s memorial to go without somebody going to jail, because Martin King would be here right with us, willing to throw down out of deep love.” 
President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, daughters Sasha and Malia, and Marian Robinson tour the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial before the dedication ceremony in Washington, D.C. (White House / Chuck Kennedy )
West was arrested with 18 others, declaring “solidarity with the Occupy movement all around the world, because we love poor people, we love working people, and we want Martin Luther King Jr. to smile from the grave that we haven’t forgot his movement.”
Over the same weekend as the dedication, the U.S. military/CIA’s drone campaign, under Commander in Chief Obama, launched what the independent, nonprofit Bureau of Investigative Journalism, based in London, called the 300th drone strike, the 248th since Obama took office. According to the BIJ, of the at least 2,318 people killed by drone strikes, between 386 and 775 were civilians, including 175 children. Imagine how Obama’s fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Dr. King, would respond to those grim statistics.
Back in 1963, King published a collection of sermons titled “Strength to Love.” His preface began, “In these turbulent days of uncertainty the evils of war and of economic and racial injustice threaten the very survival of the human race.” Three of the 15 sermons were written in Georgia jails, including “Shattered Dreams.” In that one, he wrote, “To cooperate passively with an unjust system makes the oppressed as evil as the oppressor.” King revisited the idea of shattered dreams four years later, eight months before his assassination, in his speech called “Where Do We Go From Here,” saying: “Our dreams will sometimes be shattered and our ethereal hopes blasted. … Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”
Earlier in that year, 1967, a year to the day before he was killed, King gave his oft-overlooked “Beyond Vietnam” speech at Riverside Church in New York City. King preached, “I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today, my own government.”
With those words, with that speech, King set the tone for his final, fateful year. Despite death threats, and his close advisers urging him not to go to Memphis, King went to march in solidarity with that city’s sanitation workers. On April 4, 1968, he was shot and killed on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.
Deeply impacted at the time by the assassination, we can follow two young men along King’s arc of moral justice all the way to Occupy Wall Street. One was John Carlos, a U.S. Olympic track star. Carlos won the bronze medal in the 200 meter race at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Carlos and his teammate Tommie Smith, who won the gold, raised their black-gloved fists in the power salute on the medal stand, instantly gaining global fame. They both stood without shoes, protesting black children in poverty in the United States. Last week, John Carlos spoke at Occupy Wall Street, and he told me after, “I’m just so happy to see so many people who are standing up to say: ‘We’re not asking for change. We demand change.’ ”
The other person is the Rev. Jesse Jackson. He was with King when he was assassinated. Late Monday night, the New York Police Department seemed to be making a move on Occupy Wall Street’s first-aid tent. Jackson was there. Just days past his 70th birthday, Jackson joined arms with the young protesters, defying the police. The police backed off. And the arc of moral justice bent a bit more toward justice.
Denis Moynihan contributed research to this column.
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Show AllObama said of Dr. King, “If he were alive today, I believe he would remind us that the unemployed worker can rightly challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonizing all who work there.”
those who value material wealth above all else, demonize themselves.
~♥~DEMOCRACY NOW!~♥~
I would really love to hear what Dr. King would think of Obama. I think from his speeches we can imagine it.
His Vietnam speech is one of my favorites.
As Amy wrote, the US has killed thousands of innocent civilians from drone strikes, invade how many countries since King was killed?
Destroyed an entire country with Shock and Awe, their infrastructure and way of life.
The US is the greatest Terrorist Organization in the world.
flee, while you can!
Obama's attempt to speak for MLK is reprehensible. If MLK were alive today I think he would be in a state of shock in regard to just how far the ruling class has gone in this country.
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On a more positive note, have any of you seen this video interview with Chris Hedges at OWS - NY?
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"This one could take them down..."
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http://maxkeiser.com/2011/10/19/chris-hedges-this-one-could-take-them-all-down/
It's funny that Obama is trying to write Dr. King's speech with an asterisk and a footnote:
>>Obama said of Dr. King, “If he were alive today, I believe he would remind us that the unemployed worker can rightly challenge* the excesses of Wall Street."
* "without demonizing all who work there".<<
And a couple of weeks ago, he said this:
http://youtu.be/D0T2J2Tb598
“One of the biggest problems” of the financial crisis and the whole subprime lending fiasco is that a lot of that stuff wasn’t necessarily illegal; it was just immoral or inappropriate or reckless.” - Obama
The actions of bankers and corporate executives verge on the sociopathic and amoral (as in, "lacking moral sensibility" - Merriam-Webster). Obama's expansion of the imperial wars are also starting to look worse than being "immoral" and illegal. It's as if considerations of morality don't even exist for these people. I hesitate **just a little bit** to call Obama "amoral" and "sociopathic" yet, but he is definitely doing the bidding of such people. And he is a GREAT actor - far superior to Reagan in his line delivery. And this is the guy that wants to speak for Dr. King?
That memorial is a huge ugly joke on Dr. King and the average people of this nation. Created from imported chinese granite and sculpted by a foreign artist, because seemingly US materials and artisans were considered substandard for the purpose.
Instead of being a "drum major for justice", he'll now be remembered for being "made in China?
You raise an important point on consciousness about domination and perspective. I'm certain that there are any number of ways of viewing this. As an artist, I see in the choice of image an elemental inseparability of Dr. King from the proverbial "rock", meaning the prophetic God/Divine - not of any sect, but the full and ultimately undeniable nature of the indivisible - no matter how you cut it. Regardless of intent, that the monument is of Asian/Chinese granite and created by a Chinese sculptor stands, for me, as reminder that globalization is impacting millions of Chinese and that portion of the planet in manifestations of precisely the same set of extractive oppressive practices in economic injustice.
I believe that over time, there will be a successful petition for a sign/plaque correcting the inscription, not in palimpsest, but in addition to the statement of the work, of what Dr. King actually said. We must demand this and see that it is done.
Beyond a 'politics of the consummate fact', a misrepresentation, or a static incompletion, it is a monument to recognition of the eternal process of clarification and living nature of art. This happens only with participation - something Dr. King knew and loved profoundly. It is, to me, regardless of intent of those who oversaw the process, an invitation to engage memory and situate the accurate voice of history on an ongoing basis. The sculpture is a reference point of tremendous value in this respect. It is, to me, about voice, emergence, the nature of the symbols we choose and recognize.
"Not enough room"
"Memorial planners said they were fond of the quotation but that it had to be shortened because of a change during the King statute's creation. They originally planned to use most of the "drum major" quote but changed its placement, and sculptor Lei Yixin told them there wasn't enough space.
"We sincerely felt passionate that the man's own eulogy should be expressed on the stone," said Ed Jackson Jr., executive architect of the memorial. "We said the least we could do was define who he was based on his perception of himself: 'I was a drum major for this, this and this.'" (?????) (Washington Post August 30, 2011) also from the article...( “I’m the guy that’s making the decisions,” Jackson said.)
The full quote with emphasis added:
King said, "[YES, IF YOU WANT TO SAY THAT] I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter." ..............This should be carved in stone, as they say.
The strength of public speaking, the specifically studied and deeply felt delivery of oration is particularly specific in our history with Dr. King. His seed, planted in a theology of liberation has, despite everything so far, proven prophetic veracity.
Regardless of where the artist is from, the fact that this broad commission and 14 (?) year process subjected the accuracy of representation of Dr. King's words to an artist's design consideration - "not enough room" ...???????, speaks volumes about respect in the context of institutional capacity to simply respect reality above its own self-imposed process to the detriment of both content and process - reaching toward the proverbial and specific seven generations hence.
Strikes me that there is something about the salience of what OCCUPY protestors are articulating - and the prophetic reality coming through these very identifiable institutional failings.
Don't forget the corporate sponsors who used the memorial to "Kingwash" their images. I even recall hearing that one corporation (GM?) was playing commercials on the tee-vee selling their products ... and had somehow incorporated the memorial into the commercial. The "monument" is a trojan horse on so many levels it's hard to even conceive.
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And then there's O .... who says stuff like: "it's not enough for just to remember the sanitized version of Dr. King" .. He asked us to "be thinking about our fellow citizens and people around the who are in desperate need and figure out how to help them ... I think about these themes every single day."
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What a colossal, hypocritical, cynical douche.
"What a colossal, hypocritical, cynical douche."
...x2
"The "monument" is a trojan horse on so many levels it's hard to even conceive"
Ooh, you are right on the money. I agree, the primary purpose is to promote idealism or we should all look up to the ideal being, like heroes, saints and martyrs or those who have become above the ordinary. As we become more idealist, we tend to relegate the ordinary people to the level of insignificance and treat them like they are, just ordinary.
If we just be all looking for an ideal being, he/she would probably would never come, because the being don't exist in reality. As long as we are all looking for someone that really isn't there, the present staus quo is very much safe. Or do they?
Here comes the 99% with a message, "We are the ordinaries, but don't treat us as just ordinary!"
-----sarda-----
"The other person is the Rev. Jesse Jackson. He was with King when he was assassinated."
The truth about Jesse Jackson:
http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=4079
http://www.weirdrepublic.com/episode80.htm
It's fine that he's finally made an appearance at OWS, but let's not let him co-opt it.
I have little respect for the Jesse Jackson's of our world and their self serving action's, but no matter where it was made it was far past time to place a memorial to Dr. King among the other honored of our country.
Mark the Chinese aspect down to the job killing trade agreements by our political class. A different decision might have been made if a tariff had to be paid.
gardener, It is my understanding from reading the words of others that were present when King was murdered, that Jackson immediately started lying, stating that King spoke his last words to him.
King died because he fought to bring truth into the world. It is more than disgusting for an ambitious liar to use King's murder for personal goals. I wish Ms. Goodman wouldn't have included him in this tribute.
Oh, as an aside;
King was as warm spirited and inspiring with a pen as he was behind a podium. Much can be learned about him by reading his books.
Thanks for this excellent article, Amy and Denis. Hey Amy, doing anything for the next year or so? Want to run for President as an independent? You or Brother West would be people we can trust.
Omigoddess. The very idea of a presidential team of Amy and West.
Be still, my heart!
what a beautiful article.
Obama is the ANTI King or better put, a Gnik !
I love MLK. When I was young, I just wasn't interested. When I hear his speeches now, I realize what a wonderful American he was.
After viewing Bloomberg today and learning that we are on the "hook" for 75 trillion dollars to rescue Europe and anyone else, it seems, I cannot think but that MLK would be bomb-blasting the powers that be for making us, our children, our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren slaves of Europe. We may have gained our "independence" from European Colonial Powers, but it seems that they found another way to enslave us!
You are wandering, people! Think!
H. Clinton today called for democracy and the rule of law....in Libya! Has she been home lately? Oh, and millions of $$$...not for the Occupy movement, but for the new guys in....Libya. Meanwhile, we get to see our Clarence Thomas president defiling the MLK monument by his presence there. A badge of honor to be arrested by this regime: Bravo Cornell, Bravo Naomi, Bravo all others. BTW, maybe Clinton should offer the Libyans our First Amendment--we're not using it.
Hillary, she has lost her soul to politics. When British Petroleum stood to lose 16 Billion pounds in investment in Libya, I am sure that we made deals with Great Britain after the British Petroleum disaster off the coast of Louisiana. Maybe it was "tit for tat", but we Americans lost more than "tit for tat" in that awful agreement. We spent much more than Europe bombarding Libya, for instance. Using us for "NATO" in that manner should negate our total involvement in NATO. NATO, today in our real world, is a sham!
,
She never had a soul.
Amy,
You must realize that the economic injustices being done to Americans are worse than any injustices anywhere else in the world...
Even a smiley face couldn't fix that one.
Moi: Oy!
Imagine how Obama’s fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Dr. King, would respond to those grim statistics.
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I "imagine" O would order a Drone strike on him, as well.... (the president can do that now, order assassinations on american citizens, without due process)
I liked the article but I'd like to be sure Jesse Jackson Jr is really on board with us and not the current Tea Party president. If he's with us, we welcome him. All are needed in this struggle.
You cannot lump "Tea Party" with Ron Paul's "Tea Party". You Left and Ron "Pauler's" are almost the same on the political spectrum. I liked several stances that Jesse Jackson took. I wanted him on a cabinet post with Obama. Instead we got AIPAC cabinet members. How are Jewish people, more aligned with Israel, more important than Black Americans who have been in America as long as any White Americans?
Excellent. Bless you Amy!
Peace,
Tex Shelters
“To cooperate passively with an unjust system makes the oppressed as evil as the oppressor.” True, and equally important: DO NO VIOLENCE. If we do not depart from either mandate we will surely win. Even if many must die at the hands of police---remember that the whole world is watching. They will see the injustice. If we ourselves use clubs and guns, who is to say which side is right?
"I believe he would remind us that the unemployed worker can rightly challenge the excesses of Wall Street without demonizing all who work there."
I believe MLK would call O'Bamba on such a statement because MLK would recognize the injustice in the controversy created by such a statement, which creates difficulty for the people to unite in opposition toward "business as usual". Granted that nobody on Wall Struck bears 100% responsibility, but each person who works there is a party to the crime, i.e. reaps some benefit from "business as usual". So it's a question of whether one stands with the people 100% or is for the people only part time while the rest of the time participating in the blood-sucking. MLK would point out that Wall Struck is not a necessary evil, but an absolutely unnecessary evil. Institutionalizing evil is not only unnecessary but is certainly a top crime against humanity. We cannot eradicate evil from human nature, but we most certainly can avoid organizing, institutionalizing evil, and instead keep evil fragmented, divided. This is why the people have to assume responsibility for their self-governance. Only in the (enlightened) consensus of all do we find justice for all.
America is too important for the world: why aspects of some ongoing debates are just not going to be solely local. More-so with the world becoming increasingly global, all have to open-up and welcome external highlights on some of the debate themes. It is good to frankly state the matter thus since some might be intolerant.
Amy Goodman, this is an interesting article about the memorial of a man that most people want to keep fresh in their mind, because as you show with some "quotes", he inspired a lot of people on the theme of "what is good and what we should strive to do "leading by example". One of the commentators therefore notes: "It is, to me, regardless of intent of those who oversaw the process, an invitation to engage memory and situate the accurate voice of history on an ongoing basis. The sculpture is a reference point of tremendous value in this respect. It is, to me, about voice, emergence, the nature of the symbols we choose and recognize". Indeed, many agree with him.
Regardless of the material source for the monument, it is all a complement to Dr King as a global figure of his time! "It is, to me, regardless of intent of those who oversaw the process, an invitation to engage memory and situate the accurate voice of history on an ongoing basis". "The sculpture is thus a reference point of tremendous value in this respect". "It is, to me, about voice, emergence, the nature of the symbols we choose and recognize". Many would agree with the quotes. The global significance is well marked also by the statement that King died, because he fought to bring truth to the world - a statement fair enough to calm the controversy about the source of materials for the monument.
While the title of the article itself is as telling as it can be, permit me to pick on the idea of "ARC" and the way it bends towards "JUSTICE". The significance of picking the former is helpful for rethinking the metaphor it carries with it in the contemporary politically charged and challenging situations and experiences. It seems its logic as a metaphor captioned by the universe, depicts a "curveture" and not 'straight line': some sense of prolongation, begging for tolerance, peace and still dynamic pursuite of "justice" as the objective! The words: "moral universe" become comprehensive in the fullest sense of the spirit of Dr King thus.
On a re-thought, let us honor, re-interpret and read him this way. In a very important conference paper to take place next year, by God's grace, I stumbled over the following: "US is partially paralysed by political gridlock as it faces national elections in 2012". Were Dr King to be here in these hard times, it is difficult for us to guess how he would spread the words and wings of his great wisdom and love for God and truth. He dialogued with Malcom X in those days and indeed, I doubt not that he would dialogue with many including Obama. The world of politics at a time the pond is drying-up is delicate, and we all: both the journalists and politicians must pray for the wisdom to handle, flexibly looking onto Dr King, among the others for their worthy inspiration.