BY EDWARD WOODS
n a 1966 CBS interview with Mike Wallace, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledged that a “riot is the language of the unheard.” He elaborated on the reasons for the riots in his speech titled, “The Other America,” at Stanford University. Specifically, he referenced the declining plight of the black poor, failure to deliver on the promises of freedom and justice, and how large segments of white society were advocating for peace at the expense of justice, equality, and humanity. He proclaimed riot prevention comes through social justice and progress.
As we enter the 2024 election season, Americans are uneasy and protesting issues that implicate the plight of the “unheard.” Seventy years after Brown v. Board of Education—the landmark decision that ended racial segregation in public schools—we are are witnessing the devastating effects of “school district secession.”
In addition to school district secession, ABC News reported that private schools, charter schools, and magnet schools also saw an increase in racial segregation at public schools in America, especially among black and brown students. In particular, the State of Mississippi, Philadelphia, Houston, Birmingham, Bridgeport and Hartford, Connecticut, and Los Angeles are surprising, and not so surprising areas of re-segregation. Here protests would support education equity for all children.
Speaking of districts, voting districts are cause for concern as well. The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued decisions on redistricting in South Carolina and Alabama. In the cases before this court, it dealt with the drawing of district lines (redistricting) for congressional elections to the U.S. House of Representatives. In South Carolina, the Supreme Court voted along ideological lines (6-3) to retain a map drawn by the South Carolina legislature. According to multiple media reports, The U.S. District Court in Charleston, South Carolina viewed the map as the “the bleaching of African American Voters.” However, in Alabama, this same court supported its previous interpretation of the Voting Rights Act that allows for the creation of opportunity districts where black voters can elect a candidate of their choice. Here protests would speak out against voter suppression.
Across the nation, pro-Palestinian protests erupted at university campuses over the war between Israel and Hamas through encampments. According to CNN, these protesters want their schools to “cut ties with Israeli academic institutions and commit to a complete divestment of its funds from entities connected to Israel.” With these protests, there appears to be a corresponding escalation of antisemitism on the same campuses. Here protests would support stakeholders of the institution.
As you consider and assess historical and modern day protests taking place today, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University identified the following six principles for nonviolence from Dr. King:
- Resist evil without resorting to violence.
- Win the “friendship and understanding” of the opponent, not to humiliate him.
- Evil itself, not the people committing evil acts, should be opposed.
- Willingness to suffer without retaliation as suffering itself can be redemptive.
- Avoidance of “external physical violence” and “internal violence of spirit.”
- Have “deep faith in the future” and the conviction that “the universe is on the side of justice.”
Through the evaluation of the last three principles of nonviolence, you notice a link to the nature of Christ. His redemptive nature at Calvary, winning people through unconditional love and avoiding bitterness of spirit, and the ultimate faith in God and His righteousness will always win out for eternity.
Whether it is education equity, voter suppression, or stakeholders at higher education institutions, ignoring and being dismissive of the protests do not lead to peace. It exacerbates the problem both in the church and in the state without social justice and progress.
