MLK “I Have a Dream” Rally

I am moved to write this post as I watch the rally in Washington on the 57^th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr’s I Have a Dream speech. It brings memories back, and also what needs to happen for his dream to be realized.  The answer is available.  Will people listen?

I was a sophomore in college in Virginia at the time Dr. King was assassinated.  Following his assassination, I went to my home in Northern Virginia. Stupid teenager, I saw the riots in Washington on TV, and was intrigued, having never been that close to rioting before. With the standard teenage brain of “nothing can happen to me”, I got in the family car and drove into Northeast Washington late one night to see them for myself.  I literally saw groups of black men flipping cars on the side of the street and lighting them on fire. It didn’t take many to do the job, either.  Then stopped at a stoplight with people running past, I suddenly realized I was out of my element.  Stupid little white girl in Northeast Washington DC at 11PM at night with fires burning all around was not smart.  So when the light turned, I hurried out of the area and managed to get home unscathed.

That was 52 years ago. Have things really changed?  Well, most of us in America look at African Americans as equals.  But, I’m sorry to say, in many cases they aren’t.  Why?  My stand is that they are discriminated against because of what we are fighting here on DoctorsofCourage.org.  And when we win, they will win.  Can they win without what we present here?  I don’t think so.

Why or why not?

In my opinion, the main problem facing minorities in this country is the association in people’s minds—especially law enforcement—with drugs and crime. If you are walking down the street and see a black man jogging for exercise, what would be the first thing jumping into a white person’s mind?  That he is a criminal escaping.  That he is a drug pusher.  That he is someone to be afraid of.  And these basic thoughts are based on our 100 year old propaganda that led to the Harrison Narcotics Law, criminalized drugs for political purposes, led to the creation of the Controlled Substances Act, and is now the cause of over 200,000 people in prison, many of which are innocent victims of this act.

We need to get the Black and Asian populations to understand this and get on board the cause that will actually do some good.  If we could just legalize drugs by repealing the Controlled Substance Act, and recognize the REAL cause of drug abuse—which I teach—then the propaganda that Black men are dangerous criminals will end.  It will take time to end the propaganda in people’s minds, and end law enforcement brutality. But to help that, we need to do away with qualified immunity.

But to work together with BLM to get the job done, we have an obligation to show them the reasons behind what is going on today.  That responsibility is on YOUR head. So do your part.  Learn the REAL cause of drug abuse.  And Share, share, share.  Because if we don’t end the propaganda, we won’t end the attacks on innocent minorities.