This is the first year that I have come back to Boston before the Martin Luther King, Jr. national holiday. Since this year's national celebration is about a week later than the usual observance of his birthday, I had to be back at Tufts for the start of classes.
I live in San Antonio, Texas, where we have the largest Martin Luther King Day March in the country. This year, more than 50,000 people of all races embarked on a three-mile march that ended in a rally of speeches that addressed the legacy of Dr. King and most importantly the fact that the issues he fought for still exist in our society.
The day should be about more than singing, floats, and cakes; the day should be about the spirit of the man. It was a radical spirit. People forget that in all of the watering down of the holiday and the message of Dr. King, he was, in essence, a radical. He was an organized visionary, an inspiring radical that was watched by the CIA and FBI. We do not have a parade in San Antonio. Dr. King never had a parade, he marched.
You do not get the dossier that he did by going along to get along but, instead, by challenging the status quo. I suppose the question that we must ask ourselves is whether or not we really continue his dream if we do it half afraid to cause controversy or rocking the boat?
The activists and founders of the Martin Luther King Celebration in San Antonio felt that if Dr. King were alive, he would much prefer that we continue voicing outrage at the very issues that he championed. We believe that he would not have wanted us to fill ourselves with cake and cookies for his birthday, but instead concentrate on feeding the homeless and helping those in need. In a figurative sense and a literal sense, that is exactly what we do; we make the holiday a day of serving others.
And that leads me to the purpose of this article. In a city as large and diverse as Boston, it is sad that one of the only programs for Dr. King's Birthday was the waiving of admission charges at the Museum of Fine Arts so that people could hear music from a singer, saxophonist, and artist.
San Antonio's Black population has similarities with Boston's Black population. The most important of which is that it is not very large. However, that does not prevent individuals from many walks of life in the city of San Antonio from coming together to honor the leader of the civil rights movement and pledge themselves to combat the issues that Dr. King died fighting for. In Boston, I have seen little sign of such unity on the holiday that the King Family stresses is "A day on not a day off." Last week I began asking local Bostonians, students, teachers and just about anyone I could, "what do people in Boston do on Dr. King's Day?"
Unfortunately, nobody seemed to know. I then began reading the Boston Globe to look for anything sponsored by the City of Boston or a broad based coalition of groups that organized an event. I came up empty. That is not to say that I have not missed an event, but the fact that the city does not officially sponsor a major celebration is ridiculous. In fact, I learned that Mayor Menino was not even in town on King Day. Many African Americans who have lived in Boston or had relatives that have lived here label the "progressive" city as one of the most racist in the country. That probably comes as a surprise to many in my generation. I do not know if the lack of an observance has anything to do with racial tensions. However, staying segregated on a day of unity is not going to help ease the underlying racial strife. In a city that has been labeled as a bastion of liberals, however, it seems as if they decided to take this holiday off.
Fostering unity in a community goes beyond symbolism. A community is considered a collective unit, in part, because that group has a future that is interconnected. We take for granted the opportunity to talk and coalesce with one another. Remember that when Dr. King was alive this was not the norm in parts of the country. Sure we can talk to each other every day of the week, and don't necessarily need a day to do that. But on a day that symbolizes the promise of conquering injustice, we do it a disservice by not speaking out for the justice that Rev. King hoped to see flow like water.
I recognize that some may say that we should not just reflect on the philosophies of Dr. King one day out of the year - and I agree. However, people fought very hard to get a national holiday honoring the vision of Dr. King. It seems as if many sat at home without seizing his message of action against inequities.
Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. But vision with action can change the world. Having celebrations on Dr. King day that incorporate the vision of Dr. King with actions of serving others are really what the day is all about. Next week, Tufts will celebrate Dr. King's Birthday two weeks after the actual date and one week after the national holiday observance.
And, again, I believe that it is acceptable to have the celebration not confined to one particular time of the year. However, in my humble opinion, Tufts and the city of Boston really need programs on Dr. King's Day to draw attention to why we should have a day on and not a day off.
It is sad to me that there was so little going on in the city. It angers me that I had to go to a class on Dr. King's national holiday because one teacher did not take into account the importance of this holiday to many. And it is rather insensitive that the TCU Senate would call a meeting, even if it is to be brief, on a day when we ought to be working with the outside community on the racial issues that affect Tufts and our larger community. If the US Congress can put their business on hold for Dr. King's holiday in the middle of a war, surely the TCU Senate and my professor can put their business off too.
I do not believe that all communities have to celebrate Dr. King's birthday the same way. However, I do think in Boston the time could be better spent. And I think the city leadership, both community activist and elected officials, are to blame for the weak attempt to pay homage to a dream in which so many were tortured and died so incredibly young for.
Tommy Calvert, Jr. is a senior majoring in international relations.
