#truthtelling

Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was in his 30s when he gave this speech. Full of timeless wisdom. He truly was a messenger. And his message is still alive and relevant today. 🔥✊🏾

America’s soul at risk King warned that America could lose its moral compass if it continues to ignore injustice. In A Time to Break Silence, he states: “Let me say finally … I speak out against the war in Vietnam because I love America. … I speak out … with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as the moral example of the world.” His worry stems from that love and from seeing contradiction between America’s ideals and its realities.

“Two Americas” — deep inequality In The Other America, King draws a stark contrast: “There are literally two Americas … One America is beautiful … But tragically and unfortunately, there is another America. … This other America has a daily ugliness …” Grosse Pointe Historical Society+1 His worry is that so many live the second, more painful “America” while the other remains idealized.

Triple evils: Racism, materialism and militarism He saw these three interconnected threats. He wrote: “I am disappointed with America. There can be no great disappointment where there is no great love. … Our failure to deal positively and forthrightly with the triple evils of racism, extreme materialism and militarism.” CRM Vet So when he says “I’m worried,” he means: “I love this country, but we’re at risk of failing its promise.”

Urgency for action and truth King rejected passive optimism and glib declarations of victory. In an earlier speech he said: “We have come a long, long way, but we have a long, long way to go…” Ohio Northern University+1 His worry is essentially: “We can’t rest. The conditions demand work, truth, and justice.”

For today is Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada, many folks have the day off. I hope for people to take some time today to read on residential school testimonies, reflect on the children lost and the survivors left to deal with the scars, and their children who feel the intergenerational trauma.

We are weaker when we don’t let others shine in their brilliant cultures and wisdoms, and no country is strong without the active involvement and respectful considerations of the needs and worldviews of Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit peoples.

As I can’t do extended trips or walks outside right now, I’m taking some time to listen to Gord Downie’s Secret Path album, and choosing from one of the titles I have in my library.

I have had the honor of meeting both Stephen Kakfwi (Northern Dene, former premier of the NorthWest Territories/former National Chief of the Dene Nation, representing Chiefs of Treaties 8 and 11, always an activist for his homeland and people, and a residential school survivor) and his wife Dr. Marie Wilson (former Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner) during my congregation’s reconciliation service. Kakfwi was warm and full of good humor, and we talked a bit of his home Fort Good Hope, North West Territories, and the beauty of our homes in the boreal forests. It was too short a meeting to get in depth, but I was grateful to have met him. Dr. Wilson was an amazing presence, and if I could have an extended tea with them, I’d adore every second. Seeing my sash, she asked if I was an impacted family member. I honestly told her no, but as a French Canadian, it’s important for me to be involved. While I may have distant ancestors, it’s my present job to listen to their descendants and reach out and connect respectfully.

Dr. Wilson’s book is a must-read for those that want a perspective on how to go about reconciliation as an obligation and gift. Her chapter, Part VI: Humility - Quebec struck hard with me as a folk practitioner and how I go about understanding my maiden province’s history and impact on Indigenous peoples.

If you want to donate to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and adjacent projects, follow the link below!

The MAGA racists love to bring up their bigoted tropes about Black people being violent. When one Black person murders or steals or commits any type of crime, our entire race is accused of being murderers and thieves. Nobody has as much blood on their hands as white people. Not only have they slaughtered and massacred people throughout the centuries, but they have and still to this day celebrate the men who have led savage massacres of men, women, and children. No wonder they feel the need to ban historical facts about their barbaric attacks on countless lives.

John Mason was a colonial military commander who, with Mohegan and Narragansett allies, attacked and burned a fortified Pequot village near the Mystic River on May 26, 1637. This event, known as the Mystic Massacre, was a pivotal and brutal turning point in the Pequot War. 

Tactic: After the initial entry into the fort proved difficult, Mason ordered the wigwams set on fire.

Massacre: English soldiers and their Native American allies then surrounded the palisade, shooting or killing with swords anyone who attempted to escape the blaze.

Casualties: Between 400 and 700 Pequot, mostly women, children, and the elderly who were in the fort while the warriors were away, were killed in less than an hour. Only a handful escaped or were taken prisoner.

Obviously, clearly they didn't believe/see the movies about the havoc that followed the opening of Egyptian crypts. You don't know what you don't know? Ideally, truth telling matters.