Obama, King, Malcolm X, and Gandhi: All Transformative Leaders
As Editor-In-Chief of Global Grind and as a matter of company policy we support 100% the fundamental human rights of freedom of speech and press. It is therefore in the spirit of promoting the clarity of dialogue that I post this blog in response to NY Daily News columnist Stanley Crouch. I do not believe Crouch should be censored for the absurdity and ignorance of his latest column entitled, ‘Where does Obama stands vs. terror thugs? X marks the spot.’ I do believe, however, that Crouch’s blatant disrespect for the living legacies of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X should not go unchallenged.
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Because Crouch is not alone among some nationally known journalists who have a penchant toward plantings seeds of division and disunity between the supporters and followers of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, that does not make Crouch’s statements or analysis accurate. Both Dr. King and Malcolm X evolved over a period of time to broaden their individual and collective views and perspectives to affirm the oneness of God and the oneness of humanity.
The legacy of Malcolm X today is respected not only by blacks, but also by all people throughout the world, especially by those who have had to stand against human oppression and misery. Shortly before his death, Malcolm X reached out in unity to Dr. King in 1965 to support the efforts of blacks in Selma, Alabama to get voting rights. Malcolm saw the struggle transforming from civil rights to human rights.
Correspondingly, the legacy of Martin Luther King today is respected not just by blacks, but also by all people everywhere who have come to understand that Dr. King’s ‘beloved community’ was inclusive of all humanity and not limited nor denied based on race, ethnicity, religion, nationality or sexual orientation. When King spoke out against the Vietnam War in 1967, a year before his death, there were many who thought King was unpatriotic. Some asked what does civil rights in America have to do with the rights of Vietnamese people suffering through an unjust war? Dr. King stated, ‘An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’
The point here is both King and Malcolm X were transformative leaders whose legacies are not in conflict as Crouch would mislead you to believe. Former Secretary of State Collin Powell was correct and on point when he referred to Barack Obama as a ‘transformative leader.’
In fact, the election of Barack Obama to be the 44th President of United States is a living testimony that the sacrifices and contributions of Martin, Malcolm, Medgar Evers, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer and many others were all not in vain. Obama’s campaign for President was very successful because it transcended race, division, and backward thinking. Millions of Americans voted for a real change, not more of the same old tired and ineffective ideas of pitting one group against another group.
This is where Ayman al-Zawahiri was also in serious error. Obama is not a ‘House Negro’ or a ‘Field Negro.’ Obama will be the President in the White House for all Americans and for all people of goodwill and principle. Name calling, stereotyping, living in the past and polarizing people will not lead us forward to a better future.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, another global transformative leader, was once asked if he was a Hindu, he replied: ‘Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew.’ Gandhi refused to be used for polarizing people against each other based on rel
