Avalon: A Monument to Martin Luther King Jr.

So, now we are going to erect a monument to Martin Luther King Jr. Don’t get me wrong, he deserves to be deified, along side of Rosa Parks, and many others who refused to sit at the back of the bus and let the man stick it to them one more time. What I wonder though, is this monument really going to do any good?

Here in Los Angeles, after the Watts Riots of 1965, the state built a hospital to appease some of the concerns of the African-American community. A gubernatorial commission investigating the riots identified the causes as high unemployment, poor schools, and inferior living conditions. The government made only token efforts to address the problems or repair damages. Now, over forty years later, said hospital is still struggling financially, is losing accreditation, and can’t employ interns anymore. Why? We raised this hospital, and called it in honor of this same Martin Luther King Jr. I suppose a monument that requires only that it be built and never maintained is better than one that requires constant attention. And I wonder if anything has really been done about the condition of the African population in America? And we won’t get into the issue of the HIV/AIDS plague raging across Africa, when America could have stopped it in the Eighties.

I wonder if the placement of this monument is not more telling than the monument itself. It will rest between the Jefferson and the Lincoln memorials. Thomas Jefferson contributed to the African Community … by eight children. And now, his estate has difficulty acknowledging their existence, or their right to call him their grandfather. Jefferson owned the people Martin L King sought to liberate.

As for Lincoln, in spite of press spin, it is not likely he had any wish to liberate the slaves when he entered into office. Evidence also points to the idea that he wanted to send the liberated Africans back to Africa. Built a nation just to do that, Liberia. And let’s think about this one; it took more than a hundred years to apply the Emancipation Amendments to real human beings.

Yes, build the monument. And don’t stop there. This is supposed to be a nation where we create all people equal. This writer asks the question, why does it remain the way it is? For an answer to that, follow the money. Who is paying for this monument? Why do they care so much to make a showing? Are they honoring the King? Or trying to appease a population? “Look, why are you so angry? We built you a monument? And why is that baby crying? not from hunger, I am sure! Get a job, nigg… I mean, we have a work program for you, my friend.”

Thomas Potter, FCoS, DSC.