A Message from CCTV on Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday

Greetings to each of you on this day that we commemorate the brave work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and remind ourselves of our collective responsibilities to open the doors of full participation for all people in our community and world.

For us at CCTV (and so many other nonprofit and free speech organizations), mission, service and opportunity is not something that we work for on one special day. These form the heart and contour of our every day work. I am most grateful to be joined by each of you in our collective effort to "open the doors for democratic social change to happen".

I am inspired by your diligence, commitment and enthusiasm for the cause. I am able to do my part of the work because I am joined by each of you. My thanks knows no bounds.

Two years ago, Meghan, Brent, Sam and I went to Memphis for the Media Reform Conference. We made our way to the Civil Rights Museum, the motel and site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s last hours and assasination. The story of that museum is eye-opening. It is hard to imagine, in our place of white privilege, the dark and still unfinished struggle of our African-American brothers and sisters. But the message of this community and the legacy of Dr. King reminds us that hope and faith move us ever forward in the struggle.

While he was in prison in 1963, Dr. King wrote his famous "Letter from a Birmingham Jail". The original letter, written in secret and smuggled out to the black clergy of the time,  is on display at that Memphis museum. I was deeply moved as I read through the entire letter in its tiny letters and earth-moving ideas.

It is along and thoughtful treatise on the necessity for nonviolent action and a firm and loving reminder that the time for the moderate approach to change is over. Dr. King writes eloquently of extremism and I post it here for your reflection today:

Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained. Consciously or unconsciously, he has been caught up by the Zeitgeist, and with his black brothers of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers of Asia, South America and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice. If one recognizes this vital urge that has engulfed the Negro community, one should readily understand why public demonstrations are taking place. The Negro has many pent up resentments and latent frustrations, and he must release them. So let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides -and try to understand why he must do so. If his repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence; this is not a threat but a fact of history. So I have not said to my people: "Get rid of your discontent." Rather, I have tried to say that this normal and healthy discontent can be channeled into the creative outlet of nonviolent direct action. And now this approach is being termed extremist. But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." Was not Amos an extremist for justice: "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." Was not Martin Luther an extremist: "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God." And John Bunyan: "I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience." And Abraham Lincoln: "This nation cannot survive half slave and half free." And Thomas Jefferson: "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal . . ." So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

With much love and thanks, Lauren-Glenn