Martin Luther King Am I my Brothers Keeper?

 

On August 28th 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial Martin Luther King Jr delivered his famous I have a dream speech to over 250,000 people. It was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. The Speech was one of many given that day by leading Civil Rights Advocates on the March On Washington, whose cause was to bring much needed attention to the plight of the American Negroes status in segregated America. Slavery had been abolished in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln with the Emancipation Proclamation, yet the American Negro still suffered at the hands of his fellow man with social, economic and oppressive living conditions in America. The ideas in the King speech reflect King's social experiences of the mistreatment of blacks. The speech draws upon appeals to America's myths as a nation founded to provide freedom and justice to all people, and then reinforces and transcends those secular mythologies by placing them within a spiritual context by arguing that racial justice is also in accord with God's will. Thus, the rhetoric of the speech provides redemption to America for its racial sins. King describes the promises made by America as a "promissory note" on which America has defaulted. He says that "America has given the Negro people a bad check", but that "we've come to cash this check" by marching in Washington, D.C. One of the most poignant moments in the speech would come when Dr. King said these famous words, "I still have a dream, a dream deeply rooted in the American dream – one day this nation will rise up and live up to its creed, 'We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal.' I have a dream . . ." We now know that on April 3rd of 1968 five years later Dr. King would be assassinated for this cause, he paid the ultimate sacrifice for the plight of the African American, as we look at the status of the African American male today would Dr. King be pleased with our progress, would Dr. King be pleased with the indifference and self hatred we now see that is so prevalent in our communities today?

  In the book of Genesis the story is told about the plight of Cain and Able, they were the two first born sons of Adam and Eve. At some point in the story a conflict arose between the two brothers over a sacrificial offering they gave to God. Abel's was accepted and Cains was rejected, As is noted in this scripture one brother slayed the other prompting God to ask these now infamous words. "Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. This epic story from the Bible is central to our discussion today because as we look at the condition of the African American family and more importantly African American males, we know something is inherently wrong in our communities today. The African American males blood is daily crying out to God, as men who look like each other shoot, kill and maim each other for no cause. In almost every urban city in this country the most dangerous and prevalent problem facing African American males is the act of Genocide. The African American community still faces a host of concerns and problems as we continue to seek Dr. Kings idea of The Dream. Today we are much more likely to be killed by another African American male than any other act of attrition that would deny our right to freedom, civil liberties and social justice, which was at the heart of Dr. Kings cause.

  Lets take a hard look at some of the hard facts facing the African American male today, to get a better idea to not only his plight, but perhaps to better understand some of the underlying factors and causes. Here are some interesting stats. In Education, "Only 45% of Black men graduate from high school in the United States.• Just 22 % of Black males who began at a four-year college graduated within six years.• 69% of Black children in America cannot read at grade level in the 4th grade, compared with 29% among White children. 7% of Black 8th-graders perform math at grade level. • 32% of all suspended students are Black. Black students (mostly Black males) are twice as likely as Whites to be suspended or expelled.• 67% of Black children are born out of wedlock. In Employment/Economics, At comparable educational levels, Black men earn 67% of what White men make. 53% of Black men aged 25-34 are either unemployed or earn too little to lift a family of four from poverty. 45% of Black children live below the poverty line, compared with 16% of White children. White men with prison records receive far more offers for entry-level jobs in New York City than black men with identical records, and are offered jobs just as often - if not more so - than black men who have never been arrested. And finally most interestingly and disturbing are these hard facts for black males. In Incarceration/Crime, In 2019, the chances of going to prison were highest among Black males (32.2%) and Hispanic males (17.2%) and lowest among White males (5.9%). • Blacks account for only 12% of the U.S. population, but 44 % of all prisoners in the United States are Black. • Blacks, who comprise only 12% of the population and account for about 13% of drug users, constitute 35% of all arrests for drug possession, 55% of all convictions on those charges, and
74% of all those sentenced to prison for possession.• In at least fifteen states, Black men were sent to prison on drug charges at rates ranging from twenty to fifty-seven times those of White men. • In 1986, before mandatory minimums for crack offenses became effective, the average federal drug offense sentence for Blacks was 11% higher than for Whites. Four years later following the implementation of harsher drug sentencing laws, the average federal drug offense sentence was 79% higher for Blacks.• 1,172 Black children and teenagers in the United States died from gunfire in 2003.• A young Black male in America is more likely to die from gunfire than was any soldier in Vietnam.• The Justice Department estimates that one out of every 21 Black men can expect to be murdered, a death rate double that of U. S. soldiers in World War II. • 1.46 million Black men out of a total voting population of 10.4 million have lost their right to vote due to felony convictions.

  In conclusion, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr had A Dream, he believed in it so much that he gave his life and was martyred because of it. One of his famous quotes was, "The Arc of the moral Universe is long but it bends toward justice. The problems I have discussed in my blog today affect a particular race of people specifically, but in essence they are all of our problems, they are America's problems. Dr. King also said. "You cant never be the best you can be, until you allow me to be the best I can be." As a Christian I take very seriously my responsibility as my brothers keeper. It is every able bodied American and Christian's responsibility to combat the problems and stats I have listed here every opportunity we get. The Bible says, "How can I claim to love a God whom I have never seen, yet hate my Brother who I see everyday." Yes The American Negro has made some progress on the long list of problems Dr. king gave his life for, but as is evident by what we witness in our country daily in the news, courts, schools, and streets of America we still have a long way to go. One might even conclude that we have made progress but we have acquired a host of new problems that threaten the very lives of the African American male, and negate any future possibility of him ever becoming a viable part of the American future. I think if Dr. King were alive today he would be amazed at the progress and strides we have made as a race of people. Our current President Barrack Obama is a testament to that fact. But he would also be deeply saddened and distraught at our new status in social economic gains and the breakup of the traditional black family. The self hate and loathing young black males display for each other through gun violence would cause him to turn over in his grave.