Wayman Newton: Diluting King's great legacy

Some of my fondest memories at Penn have come from celebrating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Whether it is doing community service projects or attending University-sponsored programs honoring King, I always become overwhelmed with a sense of agency to not only reflect on King's life and legacy, but to try to apply what I have gained to the world around me.

For me this time of year takes on an even deeper significance for not only is King an exemplary public figure in my life, he is also my brother. As a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the first black Greek-lettered organization, I take immense pride in the accomplishments of my brother. This pride is compounded every time I hear stories from my older brothers about how King was "just a regular guy" who possessed the same depth and complexity as the next guy.

Although I still cannot imagine King being just an ordinary guy, I fully believe that he possessed the same deepness and complexities that we all share.

Sadly, King's legacy has eroded these human qualities by censoring much of what he stood for and what he committed his life to. Society has commodified King's life and work into a passing thought that is devoid of his burning passion for social justice. Whereas King the man was a serious leader, who possessed strong beliefs and who was not afraid to voice them even if it meant being labeled a "trouble-maker" or "communist," the King of today is a lovable character that is socially and politically passive and has nothing to say other than four words: "I have a dream."

I am by no means attacking King's legacy or trying to paint him as a radical extremist. I am, however, suggesting that to truly honor King we should accept him in his entirety. This means not only embracing King's popular views of racial harmony, but also studying his unpopular views, such as his support for unions, social welfare and America's withdrawal from the Vietnam War.

Although he had a vision of racial harmony and peace, King was not so naive as to believe that this dream was going to occur simply by changing the law. He knew and understood that along with legislation, a large-scale change had to occur within American society. As long as nothing was done to alter the political, economic and social structures in this country, the status quo of white supremacy would persist.

The majority of Americans were naturally opposed to this part of King's message. As long as he talked about incidents of overt racism and discrimination in small, obscure towns in rural Alabama and Mississippi, he could do no wrong.

However, as soon as he started taking on covert discrimination and institutional racism, which many of his white supporters benefited from, he fell from grace.

When King openly challenged the distribution of wealth and power in this country he was labeled a communist. When he called into question the conflict between capitalism and many of our democratic ideals and values, he was called a troublemaker. When he denounced attempts by middle class whites to maintain black ghettos through systematic denials of mortgages to black families and the establishment of racial covenants, he was viewed as the "angry black man."

In an attempt to make his life and work more palatable to the American public and to transform him into a national icon, society has selectively edited his legacy. Very rarely are King's more radical views publicized.

This does a major disservice to King for it trivializes much of his work, and it detracts from the style of leadership which sets him apart from other leaders. King appealed to people because of his vision and his courage to speak out moreso than for his stances on nonviolence and racial harmony. These beliefs were actually a source of criticism within the black community, as many African Americans did not believe that there could be racial harmony in America, and they did not want to be physically assaulted to confirm it.

King's prophetic leadership was what enable him to impact the number of people he did. People supported King because, he refused to shy away from difficult and controversial problems. He said and did things that others were afraid to. He was willing to forgo personal gain and celebrity in order to breathe life into causes that were politically and socially suicidal.

In a day and age when leaders lead from polls and bank accounts often act as moral compasses, I find it disheartening that we place King in such company. We should take King for who and what he was and not portray him as something he was not in order to broaden his appeal. This means accepting and embracing both his popular and unpopular views.

As long as we continue to condense King solely into an assassinated civil rights leader who marched, led a couple of boycotts and harped upon a dream, we will fail to understand the true essence of King's life and legacy, and we will continue to be in search of his dream.

Wayman Newton is a senior Political Science major from Birmingham, AL.

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