The message of shame: 50th anniversary of the March on Washington

          Equality or, in a sense, meritocracies usually are harder to obtain in comparison to the many that struggled within the rigors of segregated laws that did everything to keep Blacks and Whites separate from one another. John F. Kennedy was president during the early 60s and, many people of color were insulted, labeled, hosed and even killed. Much of the March on Washington in 1963 was, and will always be a referendum on race relations in America more than anything else. Much has indeed changed in fifty years, yet further progress is still in development. The conundrum of the Martin Luther King speech was a matter or proposal in the coming years, especially with equality, but often overlooked is that a good portion of the speech was a dialogue on shame. "We refuse the belief that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation," said MLK. To bring that quote the proper context it deserves, it was a depiction of how the Negro was a check with "insufficient funds." In other words: Being treated like a second-class citizen.

      The lesson of the speech was more than just a speech to bring us all together; it was a message of introspection, looking within oneself on the matters of civil rights and then coming along to be one with one another. There's not enough introspection these days, especially with a speech as profound as the one King offered in '63; but, I guess this is what happens with picking and choosing context. "The March on Washington teaches us that we are not trapped by the mistakes of history, that we are masters of our fate," says President Barack Obama who remarked on the March on Washington on August 28th.   

Whether we can escape our tumultuous past is still at odds with those who repeatedly reminds us of the ones that bring us back to the awfulness of the hate. In order for us to be the masters of our fate, a certain section of people are going to have to admit past indiscretions on racial discrimination and not just put it aside as if its not an American issue, because it is. The good news is that the loathing is fading out. It’ll be there in far background of insecurity, but with less stereotyping.

In our ever-struggling conflict for a better world, we must demand better of ourselves to rid ourselves of our past sins. We can keep wishing for that dream of abolishing racism, but those who harbor those feelings have to look themselves in the mirror and realize that hatred is overrated. Sometimes, feeling shameful isn’t a bad thing at all. In order to learn from disrespecting others, you have to feel a little guilty and learn from it; that’s where humility comes in. In order to be “Free at last,” you must purge the sins of a bad past and become one with the people.