MLK Reflection: Today, the battle is for social change, waged with spiritual fortitude

A little over 160 years ago, statesman, orator and freedom fighter Frederick Douglass boldly encouraged those in the abolitionist movement and graciously warned the proponents of the evil institution of slavery that liberty comes to the oppressed only by way of struggle.

The sound of his clarion call continues to echo today as civil and human rights organizations like ours at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City continue to wage war in the ongoing battles for justice and equity for all people. Ours today is not a call to armed struggle, as Douglass correctly predicted would be necessary in 1857. Ours is a war waged by non-violent, direct action for social change, waged with spiritual fortitude and moral conviction grounded in the Christian principles of love and justice.

Our work for the last three years or so, and succinctly in 2017, can be characterized by organized and mobilized agitation, pricking the moral conscious of Kansas City and providing somewhat of a compass for a more humane, just, fair, merciful and equitable city.

Our April 4 and Aug. 8 Petition Initiative election victories in 2017, achieved with our coalition partners, will help bring economic empowerment and fairness for the working poor and left behind communities east of Paseo and north of Bannister Road which can only have positive impact upon the larger metro.

On April 4 our grassroots coalition — which was ecumenical and inter-religious, black and white and brown, rich and middle and poor, east and west of Troost, north and south of the river, conservative and progressive — led a successful campaign called ONE CITY that will produce approximately $90 million of seed and economic development capital for some of the poorest of the poor ZIP codes in the city.

On Aug. 8 that same coalition — including elected officials, workers, business owners, and neighborhood groups — assembled again to gain historical ballot passage of SCLC’s Living Wage Ordinance, mandating a lift of the minimum wage in Kansas City to $15 per hour by 2022. Though its full realization is being blocked by the legislature, the landslide yes vote of almost seven of 10 KC voters has further mobilized the community and will continue to have far-reaching implications for the future.

To be sure, these victories were won by grassroots organizations who are dedicated to the causes of justice and equity, and who were willing to unify to help change the course of economic and social inequity that permeates Kansas City’s landscape.

Groups like the Urban Summit, Communities Creating Opportunity, MORE2, Freedom Incorporated, the Baptist Ministers’ Union, the American Friends Services Committee, the Nation of Islam, Indivisible KC and too many others to name are to be commended for their mobilized agitation making these victories possible.

Agitation is unpopular, especially in a climate where prosperity is being experienced by so many. Kansas City is pulsing with the bustle of economic prosperity and wellness as indicated by the burgeoning skyline, the housing and retail boon, new construction in various entertainment districts, and the growing business and corporate expansions across town. This is not to mention the $1 billion airport project recently and rightly approved by Kansas City voters.

Yet there is cause for alarm. There is another Kansas City the prosperity and wellness largely bypass.

In that Kansas City, record homicides take place.

In that Kansas City, 40 percent of the workforce make less than $15 per hour.

In that Kansas City, emergency calls to 911 are delayed by a shortage of call takers, due to lack of funding. We have extraordinary resources available to developers who desire to build and expand in the sanctioned development areas and yet little to nothing available for victims of violence to receive help by police when calling 911. This is horrifying and unjust.

The country is right now amid a defining moment, as the next few years will determine whether we continue steering off course or whether we strive to stay true to, as King said, “what you said on paper.”

Government, which is supposed to protect and secure rights, is now often an opponent of those rights; even sometimes a catalyst to take them away. Peaceful protests by athletes cause their president to call them “son of a bitches,” rather than upholding their constitutional rights to engage in such protest.

In North Carolina a peaceful protester is run over and killed by a car amid an angry mob. Across the country, many states have successfully passed laws that will restrict and suppress the fundamental participatory act of voting within the democracy.

Equal education remains only a dream, as in most cities equality of education is far from real.

Meanwhile income inequality worsens, a reality not helped by the most recent tax proposal which results in the poor losing out and the rich cashing in.

Black men make up 6 percent of the U.S. population and 50 percent of the prison population, a systemic reality of racism and black male oppression that nobody seems to care about; not to mention the chronic police brutality ethos permeating many law enforcement contexts.

Here in Kansas City, we will not be silent. We will not back down. We will not quit. We will protest. We will demonstrate. We will legislate. We will litigate. We will engage civil disobedience against unjust laws and social injustice.

As unpopular as it may be, we will continue to agitate and demand justice for and with those who need a partner and ally in the struggle.

This story was originally published January 15, 2018 at 9:21 AM with the headline "MLK Reflection: Today, the battle is for social change, waged with spiritual fortitude."