The souls of history are rampant in our country right now. Can you feel them? They are stalking our every step.
Although relegated to the annals of the past, their spectral presence reminds us that every good-bye ain’t gone, and while lifetimes are short, Life is long.
African-ancestored people hold the circle of life as our philosophical foundation – those who have gone on before (our ancestors) stand with those living (us), and quicken the promise of those yet to be born.
Because they were, we are. Because we are, they will be.
We are living in a time of diametric opposites.
- Mass protests that are peaceful and others that are insurrectionist;
- Kid-glove treatment for some, strong-arm tactics for others;
- The vocalized grievances of some treated as a threat, the destructive rage of others treated as sacrament;
- Centuries of systemic suppression by the majority, continuously met with resistance by a minority.
The anniversary of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. approaches and never has his phrase, The Fierce Urgency of Now, been more appropriate.
It is easy to be seduced by the lustful appetites of fury, frustration and viciousness. It can feel immensely satisfying to release one’s wrath in an outburst of raised voices, pummeling fists, breaking glass, and stormed doors.
We have another model.
Dr. King and a legion of others – Ella, Fannie Lou, Diane, Julian, Andrew, John, Jesse, Thurgood, and more – armed themselves with weapons of mass transformation.
They shrewdly employed church meetings, sit-ins, door to door organizing, petitions, marches, rallies, boycotts, freedom rides, court cases, and arrests as their strategies and tactics of nonviolent resistance.
Without knife, noose, or gun they moved a nation, changed laws, and transfigured the political landscape.
And so are we. Name check GA and a fierce 10-year ground game by Fair Fight Initiative. Also years of work by Color of Change, Higher Heights, Voto Latino, Black Lives Matter, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Equal Justice Initiative, Move On.org, and many more.
Post 1/6 on Capitol Hill, as we experience confusion, anger, and despair, striving mightily to maintain our composure and perspective; as we count roosting chickens and bite the tongue of “We told you so,” I offer this rescue and reminder in the form of the Six Principles of Nonviolence:
- ONE: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
- TWO: Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. (The Beloved Community is the goal of the future.)
- THREE: Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice not people. (We attack problems instead of other beings.)
- FOUR: Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform. (We know and do what is right, even when it is difficult.)
- FIVE: Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate. (We avoid hurting the spirit and body of ourselves and others.)
- SIX: Nonviolence believes that the arc of the universe is long and bends toward justice.
These principles are not ephemeral and are not for the faint of heart. They are the weapons we wield, our sword and shield, as we live out the vision of a loving and just society.
Let us be heartened by these words and keep them as our guides, so that with courage and constancy we may continue to face the fierce urgency of now.
