Happy MLK Day… kind of.
In case you missed it, Martin Luther King’s family has asked for no celebrations of MLK Day until action has been taken to protect voting rights.
As of now, none has been taken.
Does it feel weird, and maybe even jarring to be told not to celebrate someone for whom our society has developed a deep respect and reverence?
Well, true disrespect and irreverence comes in the form of erasing some of the hard earned liberties he and others gave their lives fighting for. Especially voting rights. Over the past decade- and in particular the past few months- a number of laws have been passed, mostly at the state level, stripping voting access and strength away from communities of color.
Gerrymandering, closing polling sites in Black & Brown neighborhoods, dividing a district to fracture the power of a community, and outlawing practices that are hallmarks of voter efforts in communities of color are all voter suppression.
Win by making an impact. Not by curating your poll numbers.
Personally, I don’t have a whole lot of confidence on the immediate horizon. But I’m thankful for Bernice King lending some of her own:
“There is hope. We have yet to engage as fully as we can. And there are people remaining to be won over to the cause.
I know it looks bleak, but lift your heads, spread ways to help, and keep the faith.”