Reduced MiLK:

Wack Attitudes Against Observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Day

By, Mosheh Adamu aka BFAP thaAnthropologist

Standing on the back of the school bus on Arizona January 15, 1992, I stood up and made an announcement to bring awareness and remind my schoolmates that the day was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Of my message may have fallen on deaf ears, I knew it was worth saying because even if one person was listening, I had met my goal. Over years 20 years later I found myself in the same situation, at work on a federal job with people who referred to MLK Day as Milk. Immediately I spoke against the disrespect, but was blindsided by another blow from this wack-ass dude that took pride in Lee-Jackson Day, being that he was from Virginia. When I got home that same day, I was bombarded by the commercial advertisements on the Tell-a-Lie-Vision such as MLK Holiday Special Sales and This Holiday Weekend Only Deals. Other than being highly ticked off, I could not help but wander why and when did Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday underwent such a reduction in compassion, honor and respect. Truth is the reluctance to observer the day on the governmental level was an act of institutionalized racism that did not end until as recent as the year 2000, when the states of New Hampshire and South Carolina became were the last two states to legitimately recognize the Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday. Although the institutionalized racist reluctance is not as overt as it once was, the individualized racism is still prevalent today, despite currently having the first Black President. In many cases for some people, the reluctance does not stem from a politicized mindset, rather from just straight up ignorance. Personally, I would rather take the politicized ideologies over ignorance, the lack of knowing all together. The miseducation or lack of educating the young people is one thing, but there are a grown-ass folk that have no idea what the day is or all about. Maybe it is not their fault when many published and widely distributed commercial calendars mark the Holy Day solely as MLK Day. Thus there are people who do know why they have a three-day weekend in January, yet are happy for the time off and could care less why. Just last year, with the unveiling of the Dr. King National Memorial, the paraphrased words, I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness., were inscribed on the 30-foot-tall monument, was another example of disrespect. Originally derived from Dr.

Kings own words:

If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice, Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter.

World-renowned poet and activist, Maya Angelou, responded with:

The quote makes Dr. Martin Luther King look like an arrogant twit, He was anything but that. The if clause that is left out is salient. Leaving it out changes the meaning completely. The paraphrase minimizes the man, It makes him seem less than the humanitarian he was. ... It makes him seem an egotist. He would never have said that of himself. He said you might say it.

I have to question, how would these people feel if Presidents Day, was reduced to Prez Day or Independence Day was reduced to Indy Day. These same people would be highly pissed off and demand respect from anyone who chooses to exhibit such blasphemy against these nationally cherished Holy Days. I feel the words of Sister Souljahs intro on HipHop music group, Public Enemys 1992 album, Apocalypse 91- The Enemy Strikes Back (1991), song By the Time I get to Arizona when she stated they find psychological discomfort in paying tribute to a black man, who tried to teach white people the meaning of civilization. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did manage to accomplish teaching Western Uncivilization the meaning of compassion, respect and peace for all people, yet there are people and institutions who are still lacking compassion and are enable of exhibiting honor and respect to a man who tried to show love for all people regardless of race, sex or socio-economic status. I dont do dairy but I would much rather have Whole Milk in this case, when Reduced Milk is 40% less fat content. So we are still dealing with 40% less compassion, honor and

respect from private institutions and individuals for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the book written by Dr. King, Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community, he states:
Many of the ugly pages of American history have been obscured and forgotten. A society is always eager to cover misdeeds with a cloak of forgetfulness, but no society can fully repress an ugly past when the ravages persist into the present.

Surly this reduction of his life and works is chaotic. If you are confronted with such statements of reduction, please do not be afraid to confront it on the spot and let these wack and/or ignorant people know the real deal and meaning of the Holy-Day by exhibiting P.E.A.C.E (Please Education All Children Equally) just as Dr. King did over 50 years ago. Lets answer the call and head toward Community.