One piece of artfully crafted thought that I return to time and time again is The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King JR’s Letter from A Birmingham Jail. It’s a work of intellectual reflection that can be studied for revolution and self reflection for years to come.
It’s profound to me because he’s writing to friends, colleagues, siblings in the faith. (Of note, as we honor King, I believe we must talk about his areas for opportunity as well as areas of mastery, for King did have misogyny and sexism to root out of his being as well) He speaks directly and pointedly, with clarity and authority. It is the following portion that speaks to me this year most profoundly as I sit in a space of reflection.
‘Time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively... Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men (people) willing to work to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively...’
Whew!
As I’ve contemplated this, I often apply King’s words to movements and political revolutions and less to the revolution of the internal space; personal revolution. Yet King always tackled the internal motivation that led to external result.
To be an advocate, to be an activist, internal work is of the utmost importance. However, I think it’s necessary to briefly muse on the nature of activism, not just as a noun or verb, but also theory and philosophy.
Looking at activism through a holistic lens, I think we begin to see a connectedness. Activism combines experience and education in a way that gives voice to the liberation of those we are advocating for. Dr. King’s activism involved mind, body (physicality), and spirit. I believe so must ours. In short, being an activist through this lens would lend itself to being one that cultivates healthy relationship. Healthy relationship where we are co-workers, co-creators recognizing the divine in each of us, striving to create the conditions conducive to liberating the least of us.
What has been rumbling within me the last few months though, is the need to create healthy relationship with resource. A dear mentor of mine would ask, ‘Where are you putting your time, talent, and treasure?’ Time is our most precious resource where we show what and who we value by how we give or allocate where it’s spent. So it is in our thriving interest to understand how to use our time wisely and interrogate if we are using it effectively.
So often we intend to use our time in wise and effective ways but don’t take the time to educate ourselves on how to be effective. Dr King said of those with good intentions:
‘People with good intention but limited understanding are more dangerous than people with total ill will’
We tend to look at education through an elitist perspective instead of the reality of being. To breathe is to have the opportunity to learn. To breathe is to have the opportunity to experience. To breathe is to have the opportunity to be in relationship. To breathe is to have the opportunity to co-create with our fellow divine human siblings.
Dr. King was committed to speaking out against white supremacy and advocating for policies that in his most informed opinion would work to eradicate it. He often would highlight how the system of whiteness uses the human condition to exploit others. Considering that a characteristic of white supremacy is an urgency that is destructive instead of constructive, I think it’s tantamount that we reflect on how we are using our time. Especially those who claim ‘wokeness’, or by another name, well-meaning white moderates and progressives.
Rather a constructive use of our time in the work of anti-racism is to sit in relationship with others as we learn from and experience their essence. To slow down and give that valuable resource of time. It is constructive because it calls us into a type of rest where we listen, where we are energized for vigorous action.
So let this not be the only day that you give of your time to construct, co-create. Let this not be a day where we quote the romanticized versions of Dr. King’s dreams, but holistically pursue that dream into the depths of the systems that must be dismantled for it to be realized. May we use our time as a creative force, no matter where we are. . . work or home, jail or free. . . to be in healthy relationship with one another. Seeing one another. . .
Until we all are free.
To read Dr. King’s Letter from Birmingham jail in full, click the link below.
https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html