A lesser-known, but equally powerful speech Martin Luther King Jr. made was delivered on June 11, 1967. Five years after King gave his “I Had a Dream” speech describing a general hope for the future, he painted a more detailed picture of what a hopeful future in America would look like. He describes how the government can disguise its old ways with a new cover. “The white establishment is skilled in flattering and cultivating emerging leaders. It presses its own image on them and finally, from imitation of manners, dress and style of living, a deeper strain of corruption develops,” he said.
We see this being done today with many popular black political leaders, Democratic and Republican alike. One could argue this was the case with our 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. It was amazing to have our first African American president, but ask yourself: What did Obama specifically do to make life better for African Americans? Martin Luther King Jr. goes on to say this: “The majority of Negro political leaders do not ascend to prominence on the shoulders of mass support. Although genuinely popular leaders are now emerging, most are still selected by white leadership, elevated to position, supplied with resources and inevitably subjected to white control.”
Do we honestly think that the 44th President of the United States would have become the 44th President of the United States without the support and control of white leadership? King says that although we might be suspicious in the beginning at the sight of a new black leader, we are easily persuaded by their presence. King says, “Tragically, he is in too many respects not a fighter for a new life but a figurehead of the old one. Hence, very few Negro political leaders are impressive or illustrious to their constituents.” King is warning us to not automatically trust the black political “leaders” given to us. It is important for us to do ample research on all candidates, whether they are black or not.
This speech is just as important as it was in 1967. While America is struggling with Donald Trump as our president, the 2020 election is on its way, hopefully bringing a new President. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, Kamala Harris, the junior United States Senator for California announced her campaign to run for President in the 2020 election. This announcement took place almost 50 years after Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to run for President, announced her campaign. While it is amazing that Kamala Harris is in the position to run for president, we cannot be blinded by the fact that she is a black woman. Do your research before you declare support for any candidate. Kamala Harris’ political campaign is already paying tribute to Shirley Chisholm, appealing to the majority of black voters. She flaunts how she attended Howard University, a historically black college, and how she is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., a historically black sorority.
But what are her views on the prison-industrial complex? What has she done to change the system that has been implemented to keep the black community from moving forward? These are questions we need answers to before we give her our support. Kamala Harris does not deserve the black community’s support without an explanation for the political choices she has made throughout her career. I urge you to do your research before you support any candidate that decides to run in the 2020 presidential election. We cannot blindly support leaders just because they may look like us. All skin folk ain’t kinfolk.
Madelyn Cobb, a Contributing Writer for the Voice, can be reached for comment at MCobb21@wooster.edu.