Comparing Obama's Eulogy in Charleston to 'A Testament of Hope' by MLK

Obama’s eulogy in Charleston inspired me to read an essay by Martin Lither King, published posthumously as “A Testament of Hope” in Playboy Magazine (of all places!). The essay summarizes his overall views on race relations and black life in 1968, and many of his points still resonate today. Do the eerie similarities between MLK’s ideas from nearly half a century ago and Obama’s message today demonstrate how little progress has been made? Does it suggest that these issues will never truly be solved?

To me, the essay shows that the past is not just a page that has been turned - that the same issues recur, and that the same prejudices and struggles afflict multiple generations. Rather than a linear march toward justice, each generation must grapple with the same challenges of hate and inequality and indifference, and each generation is not necessarily guaranteed to emerge more progressive than the last.

King wrote in 1968 that “If you try to tell the people in most Negro communities that the police are their friends, they just laugh at you.” The past year’s nationwide protests against police bias and brutality have made it painfully clear that this sentiment still rings true. In his Charleston eulogy, Obama called for the country to “embrace changes in how we train and equip our police so that the bonds of trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve make us all safer and more secure.” While the past year’s media frenzy has brought the strained relationship between blacks and police to the surface, the issue has been around for decades. I admit that I myself wasn't aware of the mistrust and mistreatment of blacks at the hands of police until name after name appeared in headlines during the last 12 months. 

King also complains of wage disparities, writing that “A Negro who has finished high school often watches his white classmates go out into the job market and earn one hundred dollars a week, while he, because he is black, is expected to work for forty dollars a week. Hence, there is a tremendous hostility and resentment…” Obama highlights the stubborn persistence of inequality in the workforce through the “subtle impulse to call Johnny back to a job interview but not Jamal.” His statement ignited the crowd. This new, murky manifestation of prejudice is hard to pinpoint, and even harder to eradicate.  

Writing during the beginnings of the Black Power movement and at a time of violent riots, MLK also expressed his frustration toward people who thought that we “merely ‘reward’ a rioter’ by taking positive action to better his situation.” Rather than imprisoning young rioters, he advocated for recreational programs and job opportunities to redirect wayward teens. Obama speaks of a similar need to not simply punish those who break the law, and hopes that the tragedy in Charleston “softens hearts toward those lost young men caught up in the criminal justice system.” The same blind desire to punish with no eye to the root cause of frustrations existed in 1968 and persists in 2015.

The fact that the same problems exist in 2015 as in 1968 tells me that social justice battles do not by nature stay won, that progress is not permanent but rather requires a constant re-dedication. Our racial divisions are nothing new. Thinking optimistically, the fact that our current struggles mirror the past means that we have plenty of examples to learn from. On the other hand, it is hard not to see the persistence of prejudice as something powerful, pervasive, and permanent.

What do you think?