Waiting Word

It is the continuing tragedy of Martin Luther King jr. that his heirs have done what his enemies tried to do during his lifetime, thwart the delivery of his message and inspiration and, yes, what his killers hoped to do, silence his words. 

I have commented on that for too many Martin Luther King days, though last year, after the scandal of some of his words finally being released, for payment in a Ram Truck commercial to be broadcast during that most anti-Christian of holidays, Superbowl Sunday, through the advice of Jimmy Carter, his three surviving children, those who blocked so many of his words, came together in April last year to say that they were "getting out of the family business". 

It being the nature of the tragically diminished legacy of Martin Luther King jr. in the half century after his death that was caused in no small part by the suppression of his full message, that was the biggest news I heard about his words last year.  I hope they have been doing it and that they will, finally, release his words so they can have the potency they should have had all these years.   

Martin Luther King jr. being turned into another holiday made meaningless by putting it on a Monday and, so, turning it into a long weekend was a big mistake if the meaning of his message was the goal.  Limiting the access to his words by scholars as well as by others intimidated out of using them turned even that attempt at honoring into occasions on which the few words that can be quoted and cooled down to make them safe for the very oligarchic gangsters and racist institutions he opposed were quoted and immediately forgotten for another year, stuffed into journalists' files to be opened next January to be mouthed, again.

If those who have control of the words of Martin Luther King jr. were sincere in getting out of the sordid business of commercial exploitation of memorabilia and, most importantly, his words, his real message, so radical that he was murdered to stop him as he was fighting for justice for trash haulers and as the Poor Peoples' March was being planned, might finally have something like their full value realized.  I hope they were sincere.  The world needs his testimony, it's gone to hell since he was murdered.