Martin Luther King Jr. Day is over, for another year. King is dead. Like most strong-willed, charismatic Black dissidents, he was hounded and finally murdered by those with a vested interest in the status quo. King was the target of a long-running program launched by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to discredit him in the eyes of the public, to pressure him into abdicating his role as a catalyst for social change. While the US House and Senate were debating and finally passing Civil Rights legislation, the federal government's military, investigative and law enforcement arms were involved in covert operations to destabilize the radical elements within the African-American community.
Nothing happens in a vacuum.
There are forces that initiate and sustain, and there are forces that oppose and react. We have been so ever since we were forcibly brought to these shores. So many questions, so few answers. Obviously its not merely a Big Willie lifestyle, because so many who enjoy it aren't really happy nor are they actively involved in our struggles. King Day is over, but our answers to these pivotal questions will determine our actions and ultimately decide the tenor, tone and quality of our lives.