Martin Luther King Day of Service

When Martin Luther King Day first became a holiday back in 1986, I was proud, but immediately recognized that not everyone would feel the same way I did. Because less than one-third of American companies actually provided paid leave for the holiday, I’ve not had many opportunities to celebrate the day and get paid for it, as we might with other federal holidays. While that has never been overwhelmingly important to me, I would have expected that percentage to have increased over the past 24 years. That would seem to indicate a growing acceptance, rather than resistance, to the ideals of equality and unity as a country Dr. King’s dream represented for America. What has endured during the time the holiday has existed and what has endeared me to this holiday is actually participating in serving on this day. That has been made difficult when one doesn’t have the option of taking the day off, because a full day’s pay is a considerable sacrifice. What particularly saddens me, however, is the way the day is continually trivialized in a way that erodes, and in fact, demeans what the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. stood for.
A few things happened over the course of the weekend that made me think about the corrosion of what has come to be known as the Martin Luther King Day of Service. My wife works for a major health care provider. She tells me often of people who inquire about their benefits under Medicare and often derisively query as to whether or not certain changes in benefits are due to “Obamacare”. In the same breath they will ask “When will I get my refund check?”, which is being provided due to…”Obamacare”. It makes me wonder for a brief moment if the fact that the POTUS’s skin color is different from theirs is the motivating force for their dislike of the new Health Care Reform Act, or is it really due to the huge expense this act will incur. We will see if the Health Care Reform Act is actually repealed and these same people complain because the refund checks will then be rescinded.
We happened to go into a Wal-Mart on Saturday and saw sales on a bevy of those lightweight aluminum pans that people use for festive holiday occasions. We were initially puzzled, wondering what holiday was coming up that would call for copious amounts of food? When I saw a picture posted by a friend on Facebook of the “Martin Luther King Day” sheet cake also on sale at Wal-Mart, I figured the same marketing genius who placed holiday hams on sale and indicated they would be ‘great for Hanukkah’ must still be employed by Wal-Mart. I guess they figure that since it is a “black” holiday, there will be an abundance of grilled pork and fried chicken to be consumed and these big pans will be in high demand. I’ve yet to attend a service event on the Martin Luther King Day of Service where food was provided. I’m usually given a broom, a mop or a shovel and pointed to where I am needed. Any food is usually obtained on the way home at one of the several fast food establishments that don’t provide their employees with a paid day off.
I then became quite curious when reports started surfacing that the Governor of Maine had told the NAACP to perform an act of osculation on his hind parts. Maine Governor Paul LePage drew the ire of many when he responded to a reporter’s question in this manner:

“They’re special interest…end of story. And I’m not going to be held hostage by any special interest. And if they want, they can look at my family picture, my son happens to be black., so they could do whatever they’d like about it. The fact of the matter is there’s only so many hours in a day, so many hours in a week and so much that you can do. They invited me to go to the state prison to meet black prisoners. I told them I would go, I would be more than happy and go but I would meet all prisoners and that wasn’t acceptable to them, so tough luck.”
LePage was then asked what was his response to “them” (I’m assuming the reporter was referring to State NAACP leaders) saying that this is more than just one incidence but rather a pattern? LePage stated “Tell them to kiss my butt.”

Now, to be fair, I had to find out what precipitated his comments. It appears that the NAACP extended an invitation to the Governor to attend the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebrations. The Governor declined due to prior commitments. One report I read indicated the prior commitments included attending a funeral for a state trooper who had been slain in the line of duty. I could see where a commitment like that might take precedence over attending a breakfast or a dinner. Speaker of the House John Boehner came under a fair amount of criticism for not accepting the President”s invitation to attend the Memorial service in Tucson, AZ in order to host a cocktail party. On the other hand, the NAACP contends that this is not the first time they’ve extended an invitation to meet with Governor LePage and he has not accepted that invitation. One previous invitation occurred during the campaign and I am mentioning it because it is the same one the Governor mentions in the above quote: then candidate Paul LePage was invited to meet voters at the Maine State Prison. If the NAACP sought to have the Governor meet only with black prisoners, and refused to consider his assertion that he would meet with all prisoners, they were truly wrong. Rachel Talbot Ross, president of Portland’s chapter of the NAACP stated that the invitation, which went out to all candidates, did not specify the race of the prisoners. She went on to say, “We would not be allowed to have that kind of program at the Maine State Prison.” This assertion seems to be corroborated by Denise Lord, associate commissioner in the Department of Corrections.  She indicated that she would be surprised if the prison had allowed an event that was only for black inmates. Perhaps most telling are Governor LePage’s opening words of his response:

“They’re special interest…end of story. And I’m not going to be held hostage by any special interest.”

This is true.  The NAACP does represent a special interest.  But then… most groups who meet with government officials represent a special interest.  During his campaign he met with a group of fishermen at a Republican forum.  Special interest.  Governor LePage quickly tried to rebuff the notion that his refusal to meet with the NAACP is racially motivated because he has a black son.  It is disputed whether or not Governor LePage’s “son”, Devon, has actually been adopted by the LePage’s or if he has been naturalized as a U.S. citizen, but he has been a part of the LePage household for 8 years now.
My personal feeling is that the Governor is not a racist.  He definitely has a problem with the NAACP.  That doesn’t bother me so much, because I have a problem with the NAACP.  I fail to understand why they continue to support Planned Parenthood when their cover has been blown. (Planned Parenthood is an extension of the racist eugenics movement.  Planned Parenthood has supported the NAACP financially and in return, Planned Parenthood gets endorsed by the NAACP, to the point were, as more and more activists, clergy and even some politicians are calling for government funding for Planned Parenthood to be eliminated, the NAACP remains ominously silent).  Even though he has a problem with the NAACP, Governor and First Lady LePage have vowed to “put people before politics in all they do.”  Now, that statement evokes a sense of compassion.  The refusal to meet with his constituents (and the populace of the entire state of Maine are, in fact, his constituents) does not.  Even if he sees the NAACP as a liberal organization with ideals and goals that directly oppose his political ideology, he should still consider these words from the man whose birthday is being celebrated:

“Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves.” -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In his efforts to bring about racial equality in this country, Dr. King knew that all people would be elevated when equality would be achieved. That doesn’t mean that Governor LePage has to agree with the NAACP, but at least hear their concerns and see how they might be addressed within the framework of his policies.  We’ll see if that happens when Governor LePage does meet with Ross and others as he recently agreed, though a time and place for the meeting has not been set.

 

© 2011 Ronald B. Cason, all rights reserved.

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