Member-only story
The Fierce Urgency Of Now (Is Incrementalism).
When speaking those words in 1963, MLK was asking us to mull things over for quite awhile, and do it (as the) right (wants), a.k.a. forever slow-rolled.
.
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there “is” such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
.
Of course, so much was done in the Civil Rights era, and since then resting on our lily White laurels makes sense. I could see MLK visiting prisons today as if it was a happy holiday vacation, or a time to corner and convert a half million Black souls. Then he could out-inmate minister to the one in three Black American men with felonies. I can almost see the joy in his heart.
.
In addition, imagine the laughs and the good times Martin would be having with skin-color bias infected judges, vote ravenous district attorneys, and gunslinging police. Think of the camaraderie he and Justice John Roberts would experience. “Yes, John tell me about how racism is over, and voting suppression has ended. Your White-splaining narrative is fascinating. That one vote margin of flippant-ism…