By Kevin ReichThe Daily Northwestern
Nearly half a century later, we are still wondering what to do with an archaic Martin Luther King, Jr. With Barack Obama as our new mechanism for exploring a black identity, we should understand the function of MLK as an American rather than simply a black one.
Bienen’s awkward letter to students regarding the decision to cancel classes and take a “day on” for Martin Luther King day was indicative of an even more awkward mood at Northwestern. How do we celebrate something that most Northwesterners can’t understand?
We’re a country still suffering the effects of a more than embarrassing past. The years of slavery were uncomfortably long. Segregation even longer. And prejudices undoubtedly prevail: The learning curve is slow.
Unimaginable is the oppression felt by a historically segregated population, unthinkable the idea of slavery. An experience that words do little justice. One I cannot understand, no matter how hard I try. This is a history that’s not my own.
At a time directed to celebrate blackness, how can someone who is white find communion with his black peers who self-decidedly assert their black identity? The identity of blackness is borne by the distinction that it isn’t white. Self-segregation is inherent in this restricting identity role.
The MLK dream is not a black cause, but an American one. Here at Northwestern, we still do need him. But to rid America of prejudice, we must forget distinguishing racial roles. It is our job to address this at a predominately white university.
Frustrating is the fact that this black isolation has become a tool for some black activists. NU’s favorite, Barack Obama, has little support from former presidential candidates and identity-craving Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton because he won’t subscribe to their radical self-identification.
Their brand of blackness is exactly what the smart and charming Obama has steered clear of. A self-imposed blackness can only hurt a career so easily shifted by subjective and superficial public perceptions. If a presidential candidate, Sharpton addressing a black legal agenda would only put Obama, otherwise silent on those issues, in a precarious situation.
Like MLK, Obama’s popularity abounds. People magazine recently offered us a look at Obama’s hot bod. He is a wholly American celebrity, not a black one. Is Obama even black? We hardly even know. He’s managed to break the isolating ties.
The anxiety of our own sordid past runs thick in our veins. So we’re self-proclaimed humanitarians. Soldiers against discrimination. In the search to define American ideology, MLK is an American demi-god. We can make of him what Obama has made of himself. It’s time to sever the celebration’s ties with blackdom.
MLK is a function of the American dream, and it is our Northwestern duty to find American solidarity in his dogma. Here at NU, blackness is a dead virTuesday, but not the celebration of MLK.
Communication junior Kevin Reich can be reached at k-reich@northwestern.edu.