Does The Sacrifice Change..

With this being Black History Month and with the passings of Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King. I was just thinking about the man identified by all as the face of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, Jr. Surely all school age children will receive the same lesson about a man who fought for civil rights of all black people. Of course, back then the movements was about injustice and the denial of basic civil rights in some states. Students will be told that back then, mean white people used to deny blacks a right to vote, lynch and burn black people for being black. Students will learn that those same evil white people used to make black people sit in the back of a bus, enter restaurants and other public places from separate doors and little black children had to go to different schools than white. Students will learn that all of this changed when Martin Luther King, Jr., came around because he fought to end such injustice and segregation. As a matter of fact, students will learn not only did Dr. King do all those things, but he was shot and killed for standing up to the wrongs of this country. Students won't hear of Medger Evers, who also was shot and killed for doing the same thing Dr. King did. Students will get half of the information on Malcom X, because still today, some folks see Brother Malcom as a rifle carrying, by any means necessary race mongerer. Nevermind the the transformation of Brother Malcom after he returned from Mecca. Nevermind the fact that he died for doing the right thing and improving the plight of Black America. The question I have to ask is, does the message change, when we find out our heroes had flaws and weren't perfect. Do you look at them differently, when you find out that a man, some say was a man of God back slid.

To be honest, I did. A man like Dr. King, who paid the ultimate price for me to vote freely every election. Paid the price for me to go to school with white kids and after recess, drank from the same water fountain. Paid the price for me to live among whites. King, along with others made it possible for other blacks who came after them to take advantage of all the opportunities, they were denied. But I had a problem, with the private life of these men. I had a problem with Jesse Jackson, when it was told that he had an affair with another woman and is the father of this woman's child. I have a problem, with a man, who goes around calling other black men sellouts and Toms, only to find out that the same man, is married to a white woman. I am a man with flaws, but I'm not a public figure. So does the sacrifice change? At the homegoing celebration of Mrs. King, we had to learn what made her strong, what made her to be the woman she was. Her life, was no different than any other single mother. It so happened, the man of her life, the father of her children and the martyr for all black folks, was Dr. King. And he was taken away through violent means. Its no secret that Dr. King, had extramarital affairs, as a matter of fact, everyone is waiting for a tell all from a woman, who spent more time with Dr. King than Coretta. Like Coretta, she got to know him intimately and was privvy to his dark secrets. Does the sacrifice change? It is said that if you are a christian, that you should be "Christ like"and "be not of this world," Its been said that Dr. King, smoked and dranked at times. Does the sacrifice change? Does it change because the man, identified as the most effective civil rights leader had flaws. I say no, because he did his duty for a people who needed an identity. No, because he paid the ultimate price for our freedoms. No, because when his people called his name for justice, he dropped his obligations as a husband and father to tend to the needs of a multitude. Does it excuse his flaws...In my opinion, I don't give a damn, what he did with his personal time and in his private life..He owes me no explanation, not unless each and every one of us, are willing to stand at the Lorraine Hotel balcony and be shot. Not unless each and every one of us are willing to stand at a crowded auditorium and be cut down by men who had the same skin complexion. Until then, respect the sacrifice and let the naysayers go to hell.