Memphis And Mecca

Now that we have officially dedicated the palpably powerful and spiritually significant MLK Monument in our nation’s capitol, there are some other matters we need to tend to immediately regarding the legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as it relates to the place which served as the impetus for hewing that “stone of hope out of a mountain of despair”. That place is Memphis, Tennessee. Almost every speaker on the program, including President Obama referenced the fact (directly or indirectly) that Dr. King was “in Memphis” fighting for the dignity of 1,300 sanitation workers when he was martyred.

As Dr. King’s “Mountaintop”, Memphis owes more to his legacy than just being the place where he was assassinated. Additionally, Memphis deserves to be more than a footnote in the history of the civil rights struggle, because what King saw in and from Memphis serves as the roadmap out of the valley of economic, moral, and social decline we’re experiencing as a nation. As much as many would like to ignore it, Memphis represents the best and worst of the beautiful Black race that produced America’s greatest citizen. President Obama told the truth in his dedicatory remarks: Dr. King faced opposition from his own people; and I’ll add, especially in Memphis!

Memphis-born playwright Katori Hall, Oliver Award-winning creator of the new Broadway hit, “The Mountaintop” has used that play to remind us that Martin Luther King, Jr., though God-like, was definitely human. By daring to publicly imagine King’s faults and foibles, Ms. Hall has given all of us permission to get real about King and his legacy. Part of the getting real process is to accept our own roles in stifling the fulfillment of his dream. We have to get our heads out of the sand of nostalgic fantasies and accept the fact that we have a long way to go, and that we are not one step closer to our destination by merely saying we’ve got a long way to go!

So, as I suggested in this space last time, it makes sense to hold Memphis accountable for next steps in the carrying out of “our” agenda, as King put it. Memphis should lead in every significant category when it comes to economic empowerment, political leadership, and more, precisely because this is the place where our “drum major for peace” counted off his last triumphant march, his march into the gates of God’s Glory. Sadly, however, Memphis leads in every negative category. And to top it all off, in the city where King was killed, we don’t even have a street named after him! We ought to be ashamed, and you ought to shame us even further.

As birthplace of prophet Muhammad and site of the composition of the Quran, Mecca is regarded as the holiest city in Islam, and a pilgrimage to it is obligatory upon all able Muslims. Mecca has become one of the most cosmopolitan and diverse cities in the world. As birthplace of the post-civil rights movement, Memphis has the moral authority to become Mecca, of sorts, for everyone in the world who believes in freedom, equality, and justice. If you haven’t visited the Lorraine Motel (now the National Civil Rights Museum) make the pilgrimage. I promise to do my best to at least have a street for you to drive on named after MLK, our “Muhammad”.