A Voice Crying Out in the Wilderness: Revisiting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. On Organizing Clergy and Advocating Worker's Rights

Series: Diary of A Divinity Student (Entry #2)

Although I have been a community organizer since high school, I spent this summer organizing a group that I had not given much thought to “organizing” before: clergy.  Having just completed my first year of seminary, I was ecstatic to be offered an internship with Interfaith Worker Justice (IWJ)—a non-profit organization that invites people of different faiths to join forces and actively address low-wage worker rights/workplace issues.  These issues can stem anywhere from: wage theft (the illegal underpayment or non-payment of workers' wages), or lack of paid sick days, to systemic unemployment.  We augment our approach of advocating for and ensuring worker rights through partnering with labor unions. 

This summer, my task was to plan a prayer breakfast and in so doing provide at least thirty leaders across faith traditions the opportunity to network with one another, as well as learn about the workplace injustices facing food service/hotel workers in the Baltimore area.  While I learned that I have a passion for organizing clergy, I also became painfully aware that the latter might choose not to support these kinds of efforts.  For example, when I asked one particular religious leader if he would be able to join us, he replied: 

I want to commend you for your desire to work with the church in improving economic conditions in America.  I researched IWJ and read over some of the material you provided.  Unfortunately, IWJ advances political goals in a divisive manner that I generally discourage in the church, even when I completely agree with the policy positions.  And to be honest, although I believe that some of your (IWJ's) concerns are in keeping with the Biblical mandate to promote justice, I find the underlying socio-political ideologies and positions your literature has expressed to be antithetical to the well being of those IWJ seeks to help.  In any case, God bless and remember that those we protest are not always the enemy.

I must admit that his response was a little disheartening, at first.  But his logic seemed all too familiar.  It was then that I sought solace in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, written on April 16, 1963, to clergy.  King writes (excerpts): 

…I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”[.]  I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men [and women] will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive.

When I was suddenly catapulted into the leadership of the bus protest in Montgomery, Alabama, a few years ago, I felt we would be supported by the white church. I felt that the white ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. Instead, some have been outright opponents, refusing to understand the freedom movement and misrepresenting its leaders; all too many others have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows.  

After re-reading the piece, I realized that I had encountered the same type of Reverend to which Dr. King addressed this very letter, 49 years ago!  At that moment, I realized that I must be on the right path. By the same token, we (community organizers and leaders) still have work to do!  I could not agree with this Pastor’s statement, “IWJ advances political goals in a divisive manner that [he] generally discourages in the church, even when [he] completely agrees with the policy positions.”  To this, I say, that his stance is non-unique.  I have not known any “political” issues, which do not polarize people.  In King’s time, was not segregation this kind of issue?  For those who support marriage equality, there are those who vehemently disagree.  For those who support women’s reproductive rights, there are those who endorse the contrary.  For those who want better economic opportunities for the 99 percent, there are those who, again, believe the converse.

King continues,

In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church.  But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love.  So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent—and often even vocal—sanction of things as they are.  Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world?

I submit that while these kinds of political issues can be “divisive” that is not the goal of those raising awareness around such matters.  As a society, we must get to a place where we are as critical of the systems, which perpetuate oppression as we are of the prophets who bring to light such oppression.  Were Jesus’ assertions about the Law (in comparison to the Pharisees) not divisive?  We cannot let the threat of a little tension, or perhaps a little division, stop us from advancing low-wage worker rights, or the rights of any other group, for that matter!

Additionally, I could not agree with this Pastor’s logic that “Although I believe that some of your (IWJ's) concerns are in keeping with the Biblical mandate to promote justice, I find the underlying socio-political ideologies and positions your literature has expressed to be antithetical to the well being of those IWJ seeks to help.” The Biblical mandate to promote justice should outweigh any potential political dispute.  IWJ is following the mandate of Isaiah 1:17:

“Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”

   King continues,

But again, I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom.  Their witness has been the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment.

Lastly, I contend that this Pastor, by criticizing our rhetoric, assumes that accountability is the absence of tension and if the latter ensues, that the former is no longer necessary. 

When workers are treated unfairly, there is usually a breakdown of accountability.  When housekeepers make minimum wage at a mere $8.25 an hour, a wage designed to keep them in poverty, when they work for billion-dollar hotel corporation, is this not an injustice?  Should not our rhetoric be the tone of righteous anger, met with truth telling of the brutal facts urging their oppressors to maneuver now to enact a living wage?  We cannot sit idly by while people sink deeper and deeper into the mire of poverty.  We cannot be afraid of a little rhetoric!  If I remember correctly, the Pharisees had a similar case against Christ.  His rhetoric/witness got him killed!

I stand on the shoulders of crucified prophets: Jesus Christ and Dr. King. Both took on human form yet contained divine residue. In their shadows, I carry courageously the torch of justice in hope [also, that] the church, as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour.  Besides, if we let fear overtake us, who will be “the voices crying out in the wilderness” (Isaiah 40:3)? 

August 2012

Speaking Truth to Empower: Celebrating Sojourner Truth, Jill Scott and Me

This morning, I listened to Sojourner Truth’s, “Ain’t I A Woman?" and Jill Scott’s, “Womanifesto.”  I would classify both poems as Feminist (and possibly Womanist) literature.  Although both poems were written in two different time periods, in one way or another, Truth and Scott reference: physical strength/sexuality, intellect/politics and God/ and/or Christ.  I can appreciate the way each woman spoke from her particular vantage point.  

 

 *Painting by Barry Moser

In my twenty-four years of living, I have learned that we women possess an innate and kind of immense power.  I searched the annals of my many journals, and in the company of Sojourner Truth, Jill Scott and many other women writers… I share a glimpse of my power—with you. 

manifesto

there is a man

who rejoices

at the notion

that God

may be a woman

there is a man

who asks a woman

what she is thinking

before asking what

she is wearing

there is a man

who does not feel like

her sex owes

him something

there is a man

who is not made

the least bit

uncomfortable

by the length of her
locks nor the

ambit of her afro

there is a man

who knows that

her shape

does not

determine

her feminine

value

there is a man

who knows that b-i-t-c-h

never has been

and never will be

a synonym

for woman

December 2009

Portrait of My Undergraduate Self: A Letter for President Barack Obama

Because we are less than two months away from the 2012 Presidential Election, I thought it would be fitting to share this letter.

 *Art by Anna Rose Soevik

December 1, 2008

Dear President-Elect Barack Obama,

I wish you the best during your presidency! Many of my family members and friends refer to me as “The next Barack Obama!”—Which is certainly an honorable analogy! I met you at Congressman John Lewis’ 65th Birthday Gala & Commemoration of Bloody Sunday on February 21, 2005—I was in high school then, on a ten-day Civil Rights Leadership Training called Sojourn to the Past (www.sojournproject.org).  I am currently a junior, majoring in English and minoring in Theology at Bethany University in Santa Cruz, California.  One day, I read a disturbing article in a San Francisco paper called "Obama's candidacy sparks debate on  race—Is he African American if his roots don't include slavery?" and couldn’t help but respond to it!

(http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/19/OBAMA.TMP.).

  

Even though the author of this article never wrote me back, it felt good to voice my opinion surrounding your particular “race”—since your bi-racial heritage made you especially eligible for the spotlight during this past year's election! 

February 20, 2007

Dear Leslie,

This past Monday, February 19, I read the article that you wrote called "Obama's candidacy sparks debate on race—Is he African American if his roots don't include slavery?" and could not help but respond to it. I understand that you don't hold all of the views in the article and that a consensus of people has different perspectives in general about his presidency and that's what you’ve covered. But there are still some questions that I have in regards to the article (and I would love to see them addressed in the future by the media in general). First, doesn't the country have more important issues to worry about right now than Barack Obama's ethnicity? It seems like race is an ever-present indicator of one's perceived capabilities in this society. I agree with Attorney General Kamala Harris, "We are diverse and multifaceted. People are bombarded with stereotypical images and so they are limited in their ability to imagine our capacity."

* Art by Thomas Hank Willis

Secondly, so if and only if a person is a direct descendant of slaves are they considered to be black (according to the American definition)? What about my teacher who identifies as being black, born in the West Indies who is clearly not African American? What if black children in twenty years cannot trace their genealogy as far as to see if they are in fact descendants of slaves? Black encompasses African Americans (Haitians, native Africans, Dominicans, and many others.) Even if Obama is not African American he is still black. My questions for those examining race so closely are does his blackness or not being black-ness make him a lesser or better candidate? I agree with Obama in that he should be “judged on his positions, not race.” Since race is not tied to intellect, his ethnicity should not matter.

Thirdly, What exactly is the “authentic African American experience”? Does someone somewhere in the world believe that all blacks have the same experience? If that is the case then they are tragically wrong. If that is the case, our nation still has a long way to go in terms of racial understanding. Who is the judge of how black an individual is? Is it based on a specific “experience”? Is it based on portrayal of them in the media? Neighborhood demographic? Class? Education? The way they talk or dress? A Kenyan father makes him of African Ancestry and he is therefore considered black. Race is merely a trap that we have as a nation fallen into, a social construct to mask our differences instead of celebrating them. Obama himself said, he “identifies as black.” I am proud that he is breaking whatever stereotypes exist about blacks. For some of us, it’s what we do everyday. I think our nation's concern with Obama's ethnicity, rather than his qualifications and ability, speaks of a much deeper-rooted problem at the soil of (the heart of) American society. If we eradicated our “limited perceptions of black people” (and other ethnic groups as well), we could break out of the “airtight cage” of cultural misunderstanding, to the Taj Mahal of racial understanding, and become an all around better, and hopefully freer society because of it.

Obama is right in that “if you look African American in this society you are treated as an African American.” I disagree with Al Sharpton's position, which states: “Just because you are our color doesn't make you our kind.” Because all black people do not have the same experiences, there is no one definition of being black. Just because we are the same color doesn't mean that we've had the same life story. Sharpton is making the assumption that all blacks (his “kind”) have the same experience (whatever that may be) and because Obama did not have the homogeneous experience he is (somehow) not black.

If a black child grows up in Beverly Hills as opposed to East Palo Alto or South Central L.A., is that child who grew up in Beverly Hills less black than the latter?  I agree with James Baldwin who said, “Color is not a human or a personal reality; it is a political reality.”

I was/I am proud to have been/to be in DC for such a historic election.  I went to the Lincoln Memorial and signed the wall for you.  My comment was highlighted with a yellow marker and read: “Someone called you a “terrorist”—I call you Mr. President. (Psalms 1:1-3). Thank you.”  And again, I say thank you—Mr. President. Thank you.  You have made me even more proud to be an African American.  Even if you never get the opportunity to write me back, I want you to know, that to me (despite the rumors), Mr. President you are black (smile)!

You & your family are always in my prayers,

Amazing Grace—The Remix!

Series: Diary of A Divinity Student (Entry #1)

My decision to study to get my Master’s of Divinity, has undoubtedly altered the way I conceptualize God, understand the role(s) of the church, and quite frankly, critique what goes on within its bounds.  As a lover of language, I have always paid very close attention to words.  Church services are full of words.  In fact, as a little girl, I remember being fascinated by the adept alliteration, overall enthusiasm, and distinct “holler” of the preacher in the pulpit.  What was even more fascinating, was being a part of that sacred moment in time, for what seemed to be the most anticipated moment in the service, when the preacher spoke a word of encouragement to a congregation full of people with everyday burdens and struggles.  One that seemed so timely.  One that seemed to make folks leave the building with straighter backs than when they came in. 

After a class in Pastoral Care, where the professor used James Baldwin’s Go Tell It On the Mountain as a primary source for a case study of the Black Church, I began to realize the influence that words, and/or oral tradition (especially through song), have had on me as a participatory singer in the worship service.  A few Sundays ago, the choir sang Amazing Grace.  Even though I knew the song, for the first time, I could not bring myself to repeat the words.  I sat there.  Meanwhile, others sang…

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.

I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind, but now I see.

After church, I did some research.  I started with the word wretch, because I was convinced that this one word was the primary reason I could no longer sing the popular hymn. 

A wretch is defined (www.dictionary.com) as:

1.     a deplorably unfortunate or unhappy person.

2.     a person of despicable or base character.

Why in the world would we sing THAT?!  I used to sing those lyrics all the time, without ever really thinking about the implications of the words.  Originally, the song was about John Newton, a self-identified Christian-slave-owner who, in his old age, had some kind of revelation/conversion experience and became an abolitionist.  Newton referred to himself as a WRETCH because he was disgusted with his own actions.  I do not think that he intended for the song to serve as the core of Christian doctrine/the lenses through which many Christians view themselves (total depravity).  If we say/sing something about ourselves enough, will we not begin to believe it?  We are not innately despicable.  I submit that after  this class I am thinking differently about many things, but ESPECIALLY about the words I sing/profess!

If I may edit the words of the song as not to encourage/perpetuate self-denigrating language, I would write (remix) it this way:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved someone like me.

I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind, but now I see.