About ten years ago, my wife and I had a debate with my younger son about whether it was okay to be “color-blind.” We quoted a famous snippet from MLK’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech that people ought to be judged by the “content of their character, not the color of their skin.”
King said he hoped his children would be judged in a color-blind fashion. That does not mean we should not understand there are historical and cultural differences. He was addressing, I believe, the fact that blacks were being treated differently. Treating each other in color-blind fashion does not mean we are blind to all color. I can appreciate, for example, the differences in foods in different communities but I may not choose whom to hire based on the color of the cook/applicant.
While noting our many differences, and taking them into account, we should also note our more numerous similarities. King spoke of wanting a better life for his children, one filled with peace and opportunity. What father, among us, does not want the same? Mom and Dad King had all the same concerns as Mom and Dad (fill in the blank).
It was a spring vacation and my wife and I were home from college on break. We went to my friend's house where his mother immediately said, "Sit down and eat something." Later that day, we arrived at my in-laws and my mother-in-law who said, "Sit down and eat something" and it struck me that the two women were much alike, the first being a traditional Jew and the other a Black woman. At one table we ate matzah, at the other we were served ham and greens. The sentiment and the intent were exactly the same. (I never liked either matzah or greens, but managed a bit of each.)
Great essay on revisiting the *text* of a speech you think you remember . . . I've always looked at this speech differently since grad school at Penn, when Houston Baker pointed out to me that the "I Have a Dream" speech is really the "I've come to cash the checks" speech. Dreams in a capitalist society are airy nothings if not grounded in an economic plan.
And speaking of the "promissory note" written to African Americans through the Declaration of Independence, and returned marked "insufficient funds," see Ta-Nahesi Coates' "The Case for Reparations." https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/ The reparations phrase always put me off until I read this convincing article, drilling down into what, specifically, reparations were being made for beyond slavery. Plenty. Key economic opportunities--housing loans, etc.--denied to Blacks in the 20th century, for instance.
Beautifully written. Thank you for this piece. More of a challenge during these highly divisive times and as we lose our middle class.
King said he hoped his children would be judged in a color-blind fashion. That does not mean we should not understand there are historical and cultural differences. He was addressing, I believe, the fact that blacks were being treated differently. Treating each other in color-blind fashion does not mean we are blind to all color. I can appreciate, for example, the differences in foods in different communities but I may not choose whom to hire based on the color of the cook/applicant.
While noting our many differences, and taking them into account, we should also note our more numerous similarities. King spoke of wanting a better life for his children, one filled with peace and opportunity. What father, among us, does not want the same? Mom and Dad King had all the same concerns as Mom and Dad (fill in the blank).
It was a spring vacation and my wife and I were home from college on break. We went to my friend's house where his mother immediately said, "Sit down and eat something." Later that day, we arrived at my in-laws and my mother-in-law who said, "Sit down and eat something" and it struck me that the two women were much alike, the first being a traditional Jew and the other a Black woman. At one table we ate matzah, at the other we were served ham and greens. The sentiment and the intent were exactly the same. (I never liked either matzah or greens, but managed a bit of each.)
Great essay on revisiting the *text* of a speech you think you remember . . . I've always looked at this speech differently since grad school at Penn, when Houston Baker pointed out to me that the "I Have a Dream" speech is really the "I've come to cash the checks" speech. Dreams in a capitalist society are airy nothings if not grounded in an economic plan.
And speaking of the "promissory note" written to African Americans through the Declaration of Independence, and returned marked "insufficient funds," see Ta-Nahesi Coates' "The Case for Reparations." https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/ The reparations phrase always put me off until I read this convincing article, drilling down into what, specifically, reparations were being made for beyond slavery. Plenty. Key economic opportunities--housing loans, etc.--denied to Blacks in the 20th century, for instance.