One of biggest struggles to a movement, of any sort, is gaining and maintaining support. Dr. King recognized this when he penned his letter while sitting in a Birmingham jail. His aim was to speak directly to those who supported the direction the long arc of justice bends but say nothing.
In like fashion, we experience this today. It’s impossible to know the feeling of being harassed by police. It’s impossible to know what it is like to condition young black men on making themselves as small as possible when dealing with the police. If this has never been thought, the best that can be hoped for is empathy. Empathy, however, is not universal.
One of the pillars of the privileges that come with being white is that one gets to choose whether or to empathize. Just as easily, one can blame the conditions of the culture. But that too is flawed. Systemic racism is a verifiable fact. But when facts make people uncomfortable, they tend to take to half-measures. These half-measures range from having a black friend to liking a post or sharing a video. But to end there is a perpetuation of the injustice that actually exists. It creates noise that adds to the noise, but it accomplishes nothing.
Adding to the complication is the understandable frustration that results from the advocates of a cause. A scary black man with a message is still a scary black man first. The moderates that are necessary are turned off–even if they agree. They cannot overcome the socially engrained perception that relegates black men to a secondary class, and being excessively vocal about matters that matter is no matter.
Messaging is yet another condition of living in the “white space.” Knowing the audience, their predilections, and curtailing the delivery of the message is a necessary condition. This is not to say that it is right, but it is a part of the very same struggle activists hope to abate. If one cannot get out of the starting blocks, how can one hope to compete in the race?
Some contend, and rightfully so, that there is no need to capitulate further. There has been enough modifying of behavior. The mere notion angers them. Again, understandable. There must be a calculation, a balance of what is to be gained versus what can potentially be lost. Everyone is heard yelling. But that elicits more half-measures, and the greater cause goes unnoticed.
We live in a world dominated by those who have held dominion over racial categories for centuries. So engrained is this dynamic that a movement needs all the foresight it can get. Dr. King understood this. His successes have set the table and allowed us to sit. It is up to us to determine what we eat first. Otherwise, we will eat what we are told.
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