What I Learned From MLK, Jr.

Steve Nash (the infamously beautiful -- well, in my and Alex Fauver's eyes at least -- basketball player for the Phoenix Suns) currently has a contest going on his Facebook profile where you win something for writing on his page what is the most profound thing you learned from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Well, I love competition, and especially winning things from being in competition, and I feel like today is my lucky day, so I decided I'd write something on his wall. I sat there in silence for about 2 minutes, thinking. Just thinking. I could have posted anything really, anything bland like "He taught me that black people are awesome and we should all stand up for rights" like everyone else was posting (and, in my opinion, is really all that most white people gleaned from him), but I wanted to search myself and find what he really taught me, deep down into my most integral parts. I mean, he's not just Stephanie Myers or Angelina Jolie; he's more than just a popular figure. He was a man who stood for equality and progress and if he taught me anything, it couldn't have been anything shallow. Right?

So, after two minutes of thinking what he could have possibly taught me, I embraced that I TRULY learned nothing from him, so I began to ask myself why. I like black people (often more than I like white people, honestly), and I've always been incredibly partial to their struggle and wins. So how could I not learn something from one of the (if not "THE"?) most crucial historical figures in African American culture? I went back to my memories of schooling. What did we learn about him here in good ol' counter-culturally oppressive Utah in grade school (and even all the way up to high school)? All I remember learning was that he was a black guy in the '60s who stood up for Rosa Park's rights and then got killed some time around when JFK got killed, which segued into us learning about JFK and then completely basically forgetting about this "MLK" guy. And I'm not joking...that is (INCREDIBLY sadly) the base of what we learned about MLK. I know of people who think his name is just Martin Luther King. I know of people (inside and outside of my state) who don't know the difference between Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, Jr. Really, people??? REALLY??? What have WE learned about MLK, Jr.??

What have I learned from Martin Luther King, Jr.? Well, I have learned the longevity that systemic racism holds in this country. I have learned that many people will make false claims of unconditional love and understanding, and not even realize the whole time that they are B.S.'ing us (and sadly themselves). I have learned that no matter how important and relevant your cause may be, that if you stand up for something that is unpopular, you will at some point be suppressed, your words and your art suffocated in their intensity. I have learned that even though he caused MASSIVE changes in American society, the deepest, dankest, scariest parts of racism still dwell in our social structure, like malignant cells waiting to snatch the next cell that drifts by. I have learned how people hide from their worst enemies -- their ego and their fear of being perfectly imperfect -- in order to carve out this pretend reality for themselves, all in hopes of being "happy" (though they actually settle into being "just okay"). And I think the most important thing I have learned today from MLK, Jr. is how proud and grateful I am to not be one of those people.

I will always shine my light -- in EVERY moment (whatever color, shade or strength it may be) -- because it takes light to make the darkness cower, and vice-versa. I will always keep my consciousness on not allowing the darkness to inspire me to cower. So, I guess today, from Martin Luther King, Jr., I have truly learned the brilliance of my own power. Thank you, Dr. King.

-- Apollo