Celebrate King – Create the Blueprint for a Movement

Back in 2005, Nelson Mandela took the mic in London’s Trafalgar Square and reminded thousands of folks – many of whom I suspect were young – that

. . . [s]ometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom. Of course the task will not be easy. But not to do this would be a crime against humanity, against which I ask all humanity now to rise up.

Mandela was playing hype-man at a gathering for people committed to the global eradication of poverty – in some ways, a global struggle for freedom.

Way back, Martin Luther King – an original – was on the mic as the global exhorter for the demise of racism, militarism, and poverty, too.  Problem was, we didn’t have the courage to put together a strategy that followed his groove.

I dig Martin Luther King, Jr. and still think he moves the crowd when we come together to deliberate our common future.

He remixed.  Induced the new context and made Gandhi, Paul, and the cosmic authentic, prime-time, regular, playable, pop, and, embraceable.  Brought together the Street and Plato. His writing and his lyrics made the complex plain and charged the simple with complex questions. Dr. King made the world safe to bring that truth to the powerful and to the complacent. He demanded that his generation and the world transform itself.  He dropped the blueprint for his time and asked an up and coming generation to be great.

So, what’s our blueprint?  The blueprint for another generation.  Will folks in the future recognize our plan? Your greatness? Greatness for what?

This year, let’s celebrate Dr. King by considering the blueprint for new movements.  Does Martin Luther King still matter in any contemporary discussion of building new movements? Does the voice of social justice still rise from a pulpit? Which pavements do we march on today?  Is it even a march, anymore?  Who speaks for this generation? Is the time right for a “new movement?”  What are the freedom songs for this generation?  Can a person make a difference?  Can we be that great generation?  How?

I’ve asked faculty and students to think about these questions, lead the conversation, and to perform at a thoughtful gathering.  They’ll play with words, show lyrical genius, remix, and get us to sing.  Join us.  I’ll see you on Monday, January 17, in the George Sherman Union’s Metcalf Hall (775 Commonwealth Avenue).

Dust off the thinking cap.

Peace.