martin luther king

Ive gotten so used to seeing Barack Obama on TV as my president that I dont always think about what Im seeing. But when I hear this song, it takes me back to that moment when I found out Barack Obama would be the first African-American president of the United States of America. So many people fought, struggled and died to bring about that day and this day a day when I can forget, even for a moment, that my president is a black man.

Rosa sat – Rosa Parks stood up for her right to be treated as a human being by sitting down on that Montgomery bus.

Martin walked The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the visible leader of a movement that walked from Selma to Montgomery, marched on Washington and in many other places in this nation to fight for equal treatment and the right to vote.

Barack ran The very idea that this nation the same country in which a few short years ago I would not have been able to ride a bus from one state to another without worrying; the same country in which integrating Little Rock Central High School required the intervention of the National Guard; the same country in which Medgar Evers was shot in his driveway because of his activism that this country chose a black man as a presidential candidate is profound.

I remember a conversation I had with one of my teachers at the time. He asked me who I was for – Barack or Hillary I told him that I was afraid to root for Barack. After growing up with stories of black activists getting shot and beaten, I was afraid to watch that happen to someone else. I was afraid to hope. My teacher smiled and reminded me that we have to hope for the future, we cant live in fear.

And then it happened. Barack Obama was elected the 44^th President of these United States of America. The joy of hope fulfilled shot through me that night; joy that so many people were joyful could be joyful, wanted to be joyful. It was magnificent.

I think of those people who stayed up late into the night planning marches and demonstrations; those people who put their bodies and lives on the line to walk into fire hoses and growling dogs; family members who were terrorized, beaten or shot for being in the wrong place at the wrong time or refusing to be less than they were the election of this black man to our highest public office is not only a testament to the efforts of those who went before, but a vindication of their faith in America.

Rosa sat so Martin could walk

Martin walked so Barack could run

Barack ran he ran and he won

So that all our children could fly.

I’m assisting on Two Trains Running and have the privilege of
listening to the play every day. One of the characters in the play,
Hambone, has essentially two lines. “I want my ham.” “He gonna give
me my ham.” After listening to those lines for several days, one day
I suddenly heard them. Although he seems simple, Hambones story is
one of profound persistence in the face of injustice.

For nearly a decade, this man has tried to claim what he believes is
rightfully his – just payment for his services. Although he is
offered a lower fee (a chicken), he refuses. He will take nothing
less than a ham, no matter how many times he must ask for it. His
request is simple, but his stubborn determination is profound.

Monday, January 21st, is the day set aside to remember the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. During his final trip in Memphis, Dr King
(along with many others) worked with the Sanitation Workers to help
bring their strike to a successful conclusion. They are the ones you
see in photos from the period holding signs that say “I AM a man.”
This was not the first (nor would it be the last) time they had struck
to fight for a living wage. Those men, like Hambone were fighting for
their right to be heard, or as Dr King said the night before he died
“We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to
be people.” It seems such a simple thing, and something that today
most of us are lucky enough to take for granted. But those simple
things are often the most difficult to attain.

At a production meeting last week someone, in reference to using food
on stage, said “We can’t do leftovers.” The phrase stuck with me. It
seemed more profound than the intended meaning of the moment. Hambone
wasn’t settling for leftovers. The strikers in Memphis weren’t
settling for leftovers. And Dr. King certainly wasn’t settling for
leftovers.

What does this mean for me? Im an artist. Im black. Im a woman.
Many people fought and died for my right to ride on a bus and sit
anywhere I please; many people fought and died for my right to so
freely declare myself an artist – without my ancestors struggle for
self-determination (their ham), I would not have been free to follow
my heart into theatre. To honor their fight, I believe its my duty
to give my all to my craft, to learn as much as I can and to speak
with integrity through my work. I need to fight for my own ham.

We as a people should not settle for leftovers. It may take the
stubborn determination of Hambone, but to get to the Promised Land we
can’t settle for leftovers. I want my ham. He gonna give me my ham.

dkw

observations and reflections

Tag Archives: martin luther king

Rosa sat, so Martin could walk…

I Want My Ham! A Meditation On Hambone