A TOUCH OF REALITY ( pt. 2 )

FROM THE BROWDER FILE
written by : Anthony T. Browder


( A Conversation With Dr. King )
******* AB: = Anthony T. Browder******* MLK: = Martin L. King Jr.


I had a dream the other night. In that dream I was afforded a rare opportunity to do what could only be possible in a dream. I dreamt that I conducted a personal interview with the late Dr. Martin Luther King....... I would like to share with you some excerpts from my dream.


AB: Dr. King, almost 20 years have passed since you left us. How would you describe the changes that have taken place in the struggle for civil rights ?

MLK: I feel that the tactics we used in the 1960's would not work well in today's society. You see, racism is a systematic way of life, and all systems adapt to change. Our protest forced the government to acknowledge our rights as citizens. Then the system changed. Now our people are struggling to hold on to the changes that so many of us fought and died for.

AB: What tactics would work best in today's struggle for human rights ???

MLK: I had a conversation with FREDERICK DOUGLASS the other day on that very subject. We both agreed that power concedes nothing without a struggle.
Sometimes a struggle may begin " nonviolently ", and then turn " violent " because of the oppostions against it. Today, the U.S. government is supporting armed liberation struggles all over the world, and sisters in " DARFUR " are told to wait for their freedom just as we were told to wait for ours. The time for waiting is long gone. I concur completely with my dear brother
MALCOLM and his feelings that we must achieve freedom " by any means necessary "
You can quote me on that.......

AB: Dr. King, are you saying that the civil rights movement was a failure???

MLK: No, not at all. The civil rights movement was a means to an end ( where is this exact saying used by a character within the book " Fallen Humanity / The Awakening
and by whom ??? Answer correctly and win a prize of enlightenment ) The movement focused world attention on the treatment of the "NEGRO" in America, and we forced the government to loosen its death grip on us. We gained some breathing room and we were in the process of shifting our attention towards worldwide human rights when I was assassinated.

AB: Dr. King, if you were to give a message to those of us who were inspired by your work, what would that message be???

MLK: I would say this. In the 50's we sat in at lunch counters, we boycotted business and we demanded the right to vote. Today, you own many restaurants, you operate multi-million dollar business, you elect your own public officials, but you are not free.
Freedom comes only when people are truly dedicated to liberty. We can not take one step forward and two steps back and call that progress. Many of our youth today know little or nothing about their history, let alone the struggle of those who lived a generation before them. We've taken two gigantic steps backward, and it deeply concerns me. People can no longer afford to waste time, they must wake up, wipe the sleep from their eyes, and continue the struggle. I would hate to think that I gave my life in vain. From where I now stand, I know that we will reach the promise land, but when, is the abiding question............