By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
Last Sunday, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Baptist Church in Renton held a fiery and energetic celebration of the life and contributions of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. featuring Dr. Carl Mack, former president of the Seattle-King County chapter of the NAACP, as the keynote speaker.
For those in attendance it was a fantastic presentation as Dr. Mack, who is an outstanding orator, educated, inspired and fired up the crowd.
The event itself was filled with dynamic and enthusiastic presentations beginning with Rev. Dr. Linda M. Smith, Pastor of Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Baptist Church, who orchestrated the ceremony with eloquence and deep faith.
As part of the celebration, artistic performances and artist works were displayed as they used their talents to pay homage to the fallen civil and human rights leader. Shaunyce Sims Omar recited a poem entitled “Black Culture” that was both dramatic and animated and filled with positive affirmations about what it is to be Black. A group of young children presented their respects by narrating what they thought of Dr. King in the innocent manner in which only a child can perform.
Of course, being a traditional Black church, the church choir chimed in as their voices rang to the rooftops magnifying the name of Jesus and bringing joy to the room.
“Today was everything and more than what we had expected,” says Rev. Smith. “It was more because we were educated, we were informed, and it really touched the core of what we are trying to do here in this community.”
Dr. Mack approached the podium as the audience, waiting in anticipation, filled with emotion as Mack recognized and thanked those in the audience that were instrumental and influential in his life and career.
“To be back in my home church and to see so many faces that I saw that were so much a part of the struggle with me, even now just thinking about it I felt so full,” said Mack. “I didn’t think I would be able to get up here and speak because when I looked at their faces I remember when they were with me and guided me as a young man.”
“Just to see all of those faces brought back so many wonderful, beautiful memories,” Mack added.
Mack’s speech itself was enlightening and illuminating as he touched on subject matters ranging from King’s visions continuing to be relevant 55-60 years later, to reparations, and critical race theory.
Mack expounded on the idea that King’s contributions went far beyond the narratives in which we are accustomed to hearing and seeing them like the “I have dream” speech, the nonviolent protests, the images of arrests. But, according to Mack, there is a side of King that is necessary to expose that history dares not to share.
“Now clearly this presentation, this wasn’t your I have a dream, feel good, Dr. King presentation,” says Mack. “I had every intention to want to challenge us to understand the depth of who this man is, how deep he is and I truly believe that his greatness transcends time.”
“Things that [Dr. King] talked about 55-60 years ago are still incredibly relevant,” Mack continued. “And if we don’t get inside of those lessons, those lessons are just lying there dormant, and we are allowing the country to weaponize them against us.”
During his speech Mack utilized a video that for a long time was hidden in the annals of mass media archives where Dr. King was confronted by the media with a question regarding the ability or inability of the Black community to rise from the ashes of bondage. In the speech, Dr. King provided a unique perspective on reparations and what is now known as critical race theory.
“None of us would have thought that Dr. King had thought about reparations when in fact he has one of the best arguments for reparations that I’ve heard in my life,” says Mack. “Loved it when Dr. King said and I quote, “the white peasant comes here, they never endured slavery and now for the negro who was brought here against his will, 244 years of chattel slavery, and then have the audacity to look at me and my people and say, “pull yourself up by your bootstraps”.
“I wouldn’t say they [the white media] was on crack, but [their questions] sure sounded crack-ish,” Mack embellished as the audience burst with laughter and applause.
Dr. Mack spoke extensively on Critical Race Theory (CRT), and how our ability to tell our side of the story has been a major thorn in today’s politics. According to Mack, politicians have used our historical truth as a weapon to alleviate their cultural responsibility in the role they have played in the oppression and subsequent “cancel culture” of another culture.
“Now today we struggle with this issue of Critical Race Theory,” says Mack. “But let’s talk about what it is, it is the teaching of Black history, the teaching of Blackness.”
“Let me tell you how effective the weaponization of CRT has been against us and our children,” Mack continued. “In May of 2021, the state of Tennessee passed a law banning all instructional material that would teach that one has privilege based on their race. The state of Tennessee banned all instructional material that teaches little white children or anyone for that matter, to feel uncomfortable or guilty. The state of Tennessee banned all instructional material that could cause a division or resentment because of what happened in the past. New Hampshire passed legislation that would ban any material that said, ‘America was founded on racism.’”
Mack made a valiant effort to re-educate the audience in the church, and to intentionally redirect King’s followers into a more subjective and narrowed view of the insights of King beyond the American history books. According to Mack, King “possessed perspective on a lot of different issues that white America did not want Black America to know.”
Overall, the celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King no matter where one goes to celebrate will always by a joyous and commemorative occasion. But this year’s presentation at Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Baptist Church was inspiring, and really caused people to reconsider what it really means to be free in America and how far we have moved the needle since Dr. King’s untimely death.
“I felt like the family heard us today, they heard us,” says Mack. “I wanted people to understand that part of the brilliance of the man is because he is so deep in our experience and when you get inside of our experience, it gives you these stories to tell.”
“I think Dr. Mack inspired us in that there is more work to be done and we must continually bring about justice King’s way and also God’s way,” Rev. Smith concluded.
