You Missed the Whole Point

I was reading yesterday's Kalamazoo Gazette and saw an article that just pissed me off. I really wish I had a link to it, but I don't. Here's some background. Found a link, enjoy.

Last year, Michigan voters approved proposal 2 which eliminated affirmative action in Michigan. Race may no longer be considered for jobs, college admissions, and or contract work for or with the state of Michigan.

Zenobia Lawrence Hikes, vice president of student affairs at Virginia Tech University, was the keynote speaker for a Martin Luther King day speech at Miller Auditorium at Western Michigan University. She says that..."The passage pf proposal 2 by Michigan voters was a rebuke to the dream of racial equality that Martin Luther King Jr. lived and died to promote". She further stated..."We are losing ground and running in opposition to a civil rights agenda almost 4 decades after Dr. King's assassination."

She further goes on to say..."King showed the way toward a more unified nation in which minorities would have the chance to take part in all economic, political and social aspects of American society." To quote the article...After outlining some of the economic challenges that blacks continue to face, such as high levels of incarceration, she went on to criticize certain aspects of the hip-hop culture. "We need to create new role models," she said. "Parents must re-examine BET (the Black Entertainment Network) and the songs and videos that their children watch. We have to ask ourselves if we want the world to view our sons as thugs and our daughters as promiscuous." "We must tell our children about the civil rights struggle. We must tell them how we have survived," she said. "Dr. King never lived to see the promised land, but we are standing on the shoulders of Dr. King and have the chance to turn his vision into reality."

I didn't quote the fluffy stuff. I typed exactly what was in the Gazette. You may be able to find the article at mlive.com. Ms. Lawrence Hikes was not the only speaker, there were other local and religious figures in attendance and I will quote a couple of them also.

"The year 2006 was when we suffered a tremendous setback in the state of Michigan. Affirmative action was reversed in one of the best states in America," said the Rev. J. Louis Felton, president of the Northside Ministerial Association.

Oh my God! You people have totally missed the point Dr. King was trying to make. Dr. King wanted a color blind society. I do not believe for one moment that he would have supported affirmative action. Dr King wanted the equality and a chance to prove that blacks could be more than they were allowed at the time. He got you the equality, what have YOU done with it? Who's fault is the "hip-hop culture"? Who runs BET? If blacks still face all those economic challenges, they must have started BEFORE Michigan voters passed proposal 2. Why criticize proposal 2? You're pissed because the color of your skin won't get you a job or a college slot anymore? You mean you're actually going to have to EARN your way? OMG!! how horrible.

The world at large will perceive your sons as thugs because that's how they act. The world at large will perceive your daughters as promiscuous because that's how they act. The leaders of the black community keep telling you how it's everyone else's fault . The leaders of the black community are all too willing to throw the race card. And through all this, you totally missed or ignored the point that Dr. King wanted to make. There is no difference between peoples. The color of your skin does not equate to the intelligence between your ears. As long as you're willing to study and work hard, you can achieve anything that anyone else can. Dr. King sought a color blind society, not a hand out.