A King, a President and a Rose

By S. L. Shervington

Americans of all faiths, colors and genders embrace the Martin Luther King holiday because it is a tangible symbol of a victory in the often bloody and always hard-fought efforts to attain racial equality. It is a symbol, too, of the promise of equal opportunity for all. This premise, so intrinsic to how we see ourselves as Americans, has been elusive. But in a way that is natural since we are part of a grand experiment that swims against the tide of history.

This year we have even more to celebrate. The fact that the King holiday falls within days of the inauguration of Barack Obama, our first black President of the United States, is a unique occurrence. Taken together, these circumstances offer us a profound symbol of how, by working together, we can transform great yesterdays into greater tomorrows.

It is a great victory in a good fight that has literally spanned
centuries. This is a moment to savor, a moment that large numbers of
our parents and grandparents never thought to see. Still, this is a
beginning and not an ending, and we must reflect upon that. While it is
true that mob violence against blacks is a thing of the past, police
brutality and racial profiling are not. And while legal separation is a
thing of the past, many of us live all-but-segregated lives – whether
in our neighborhoods, our places of worship, or our vacation
destinations.

Here in Asheville there are heartfelt efforts to address the
latter. For example, the diversity book group led by diversity
consultant Patti Digh (author of “Life Is a Verb”) meets regularly and
would like to become even more diverse. On Jan. 5 a group sponsored by
Malaprops bookstore met to discuss the classic “How Race Is Lived in
America,” written by a range of New York Times staffers.

It is an encouraging effort, as is the popular Building Bridges
program, which will begin a new session in late January [see details
below]. These are just some of the things we can do locally. And
nationally and internationally the advent of blogs, websites, etc. are
part of an era of techno-communications that will increase
opportunities for dialog and change exponentially.

Dr. King was a master orator and communicator. And he was a man
with many dreams. These were his big three: an end to poverty, an end
to war, and a country that not only makes judgments based on character
rather than skin color but also where merit rather than mediocrity is
rewarded. Quite the opposite of what we have seen in recent years. It
will be a wonderful thing if in the days to come we can hold these fine
ideals close to our hearts — if we let them, like the children Dr. King
loved so much, walk hand in hand through the conscious lives so many of
us here in Asheville aspire to.

But this story would not be complete without giving Rosa Parks,
the mother of the civil rights movement, her due. This woman is our
very own rose, that symbol of hope and purity in cultures too numerous
to name. She was the first woman to lie in state in the Capitol. But a
few short years before her death she had become a footnote to history,
forgotten, and in danger of eviction from her rental apartment. I find
that tremendously sad. One has to wonder, if our nation were a bit more
advanced, what great things she might have accomplished over the course
of a long life.

Another part of the Rosa Parks backstory is that her rectitude
and values were a key factor in her becoming a touchstone for a cause
to which millions rallied. You could say she sat down so that many
others could stand up. This popular quote sums it up perfectly:
Sometimes the best transportation is a leap of faith. We as Americans
have been privileged to see that time and time again. It is true for
Dr. King, our new president-to-be Barack Obama as well as the millions
of Americans like you and like me who took that leap of faith together.

And while the Promised Land remains on the horizon, not yet
within our reach, today we have one sweet reason to just keep moving
along. It could well be Asheville’s motto: Here, We Dwell in
Possibility.

Building Bridges will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. on nine Monday
evenings from January 26 through March 19, 2009 at MAHEC, 501 Biltmore
Avenue. The cost is $30 for the series. For more information call(828) 777-4585 or register online at www.buildingbridges-asheville.org.