Fight Hate with Love
Wise Words from the King Family
Watching the murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 was a horrific wake-up call for some, and the straw that broke the camel’s back for many others. When he called out for his mother, he summoned thousands and thousands of mothers to fight for justice and for an end to these killings. (I joined a Facebook group called We Are The Mothers He Summoned.) It has been encouraging to see so many white people joining the cause for justice for black citizens. Many of us have been learning so much about black history and the systemic racism that continues to plague our country, increasing our understanding and empathy for our black brothers and sisters. The violence and systemic oppression carried out by white Americans throughout the history of our country is sickening and unconscionable, but whenever a black person or group seeks equality or fights back, they are criminalized and blamed for all the violence and hate.
[George Floyd's death has raised questions about systemic racism and police brutality not only in the United States but also across Europe. German artist Eme Freethinker painted this portrait of George Floyd on what used to be the Berlin Wall. Geo.tv/Irfan Aftab]
Here is a poem I wrote a couple of years ago:
Diversity by Crysta Fletcher
I get nervous when I see a cop 'cuz he might give me a ticket
He is terrified to see a cop 'cuz he might give him a bullet
Some worry about protecting their guns and their police force
We grieve the murder of children, friends and neighbors
You were more upset about a black man kneeling on a field during our anthem
than about a white man kneeling on a black man until he stopped breathin'.
They were ripped from their homes and families and sold like animals
We treat our pets like humans and fight for their rights more than for other people's.
We complain about Affirmative Action and claim job discrimination
When they go low, stay high and wide
Don't keep silent, just keep your pride
Once we were united, but we've never been more divided
He promised to make America great, but all I see is lies and hate.
How you expect them not to get violent and angry
when you've been murdering and demeaning them for centuries.
Don't be afraid, they don't want revenge.
They just want injustice to come to an end.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, "A climate of hatred and bitterness so permeated areas of our nation that inevitably deeds of extreme violence must erupt. I saw its wider social significance. The lack of restraint upon violence in our society along with the defiance of law by men in high places cannot but result in an atmosphere which engenders desperate deeds." We are seeing many desperate deeds, threats and acts of violence in our country today and these are not righteous acts condoned by God. In the 1960s white supremacists did their dastardly work at night, according to Martin Luther King Jr, wearing white hoods as cowards. In 2021 white supremacists stormed our US Capitol in broad daylight in front of the whole world, refusing to wear masks as was recommended during the pandemic. They were given permission, given courage, given instructions, given motivation to act violently to destroy our democracy.
White Americans have discriminated against many groups. We have discriminated against Irish people but love their whiskey and holiday in March. We have discriminated against Asian people and placed them in internment camps and also love their food and automobiles. We discriminate against Africans and other black people even though we love their musical and athletic performance. We discriminate against Jewish people while enjoying their scientific and cinematic contributions and forgetting that Jesus was a Jew(not a white American). I could talk about many other groups but you get the picture. We determine the value of ourselves and other people based on the shade of skin color, based on sexual orientation, based on where they’re from, based on their body type, based on their financial status, career or educational level, based on where they go to church and how they practice their religion.
“I agree with the president's National advisory Commission on civil disorders that our Nation is splitting into two hostile societies and that the chief destructive cutting-edge is white racism.” Martin Luther King Jr.
"I am concerned that Negroes achieve full status as citizens and as human beings here in the United States. But I am also concerned about the moral uprightness and the health of our Souls. Therefore I must oppose any attempt to gain our freedom by the methods of malice, hate, and violence that have characterized our oppressors. Hate is just as injurious to the hater as it is to the hated. Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital Unity. Many of our inner conflicts are rooted in hate." Martin Luther King Jr.
"The violence of poverty and humiliation hurts as intensely as the violence of the club." Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said after receiving a death threat he went to the kitchen to pray. "I could hear an inner voice saying to me, 'Martin Luther, Stand up for righteousness. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. And lo, I will be with you, even to the end of the world'... he promised never to leave me alone." "One night at a mass meeting, I found myself saying 'If one day you find me sprawled out dead, I do not want you to retaliate with a single act of violence. I urge you to continue protesting with the same dignity and discipline you have shown so far.... If I am stopped this movement will not stop. If I am stopped our work will not stop. For what we are doing is right, what we are doing is just, and God is with us."
God is with those who are standing for truth, for justice and for doing what is right. God is love, not hate. God values all life that he created and so must we.
“...Cease to do evil, learn to do good, search for justice, help the oppressed, be just to the orphan, plead for the widow”(Isaiah 1:11 – 17)
[Martin Luther King Jr. holds his son Martin III as his daughter Bernice and wife Coretta greet him at the airport upon his release from Georgia State prison after his incarceration for leading boycotts, 1960. Donald Uhrbrock / The LIFE Images Collection]
Two of the great heroes of the Civil Rights Movement made a huge impact that started with small but courageous decisions. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta were at a crossroads deciding between career opportunities in the north or a ministry post in the segregated South. After much prayer and discussion, they chose the more difficult path of returning to work and raise a family in the South and use their voices to make a change. That decision was a pivotal moment in our history, as was the moment when Rosa Parks chose to remain seated and be arrested rather than give her seat to a white man. Every day we too have opportunities to make choices that can impact our lives, our communities and our world.
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” Robert F. Kennedy
Martin Luther King III recently wrote, "My daddy was killed when I was 10 years old. Not six years later my grandmother was killed during Sunday Service at Ebeneezer Baptist Church while playing The Lord's Prayer on the organ. And in the face of all that hatred, my Granddaddy used to say, “I refuse to allow any person to reduce me to hatred. The man that killed my lovely wife and the man that killed my son, I refuse to allow them, even, to reduce me to hatred. I love everybody. I am every man’s brother." We must fight hate with love, that is the only way we can win."
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