After reading Dr. King’s “The Time for Freedom Has Come”, I wrote some notes about how social and racial identity affects the activist and her/his perspective toward civil disobedience. After reading only the introduction, that the “new generation of black youth…came to view arrest for the sake of liberation as a mark of honor”, I began to think about the activists I knew in college who annoyed me with their willingness to be “arrested for a cause.” Some took pride in their daring, their police confrontations, their close calls. There was a defiance in their attitude that doesn’t come across in the activists that King describes. And the biggest difference, I believe, is that most of the activists I was remembering were white.
As a white activist, civil disobedience has a whole different meaning. Many white activists have grown up without fear or distrust of police. If I am arrested, I am not worried that I will be treated unfairly because of my race. If I am arrested for an act of civil disobedience, it will probably result in a few hours or maybe a night in a jail cell, charges will most likely be dropped, and life will go on.
How different for the college students King is describing! How vastly different for the illegal immigrants living in the U.S. today! Racial privilege must be considered when reading about and discussing civil disobedience. Disobeying a law with the risk of arrest has different weight for different people. It took me a few paragraphs to appreciate the heavy risk undertaken by black college students in the 60s. It took me a few more paragraphs to think about the risk faced by “illegal” activists today.
Anyone can be a supporter of the rights of immigrants and the movement associated with those rights, but who should be the leaders of the movement? Not a bunch of white people with good jobs and laptops and full, unquestionable citizenship. If the means are as important as the end, the leaders of the immigrant rights movement should be immigrants, legal or otherwise. So what can I do to make it safe for others to speak for themselves, to disobey an unjust law without risking everything?
On another train of thought, I enjoyed this chapter especially because it is a tribute to young people. It honors SNCC activists by describing them as serious and dignified leaders. Rarely are college activists seen in this light today–they’re kids. They’re naive. They’re idealistic. They jump on whatever hip issue comes along.–I have felt that tone directed at me and others, and so King’s tremendous respect for young people was especially refreshing. Dr. King never presents himself as a primary figure or icon, but rather gives credit where it’s due. In that spirit, to conclude this post I’d like to give a shoutout to a fantastic feat of organizing that happened back in 2003—The Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, which of course was a deliberate echo of the Freedom Rides of the Civil Rights Movement.
Nonviolent Migration 
October 5, 2007 at 8:16 am
Claire,
I have to disagree with most of what you’ve said, and I believe Dr. King would have too. Malcolm X (and possibly even Malik el-Shabazz) would have agreed with you. If I were to guess, I’d bet you were assigned to read a lot more Malcolm X than Martin Luther King in college. I certainly was. Malcolm X said that whites could do nothing to help blacks in America, but he came from the “Back to Africa Movement” tradition of Marcus Garvey. Dr. King, on the other hand, constantly challenged Malcolm X and those ideas. Malcolm X’s goal was black power; Dr. King’s was the beloved community where black and white would live together in Christian love. Dr. King welcomed whites into the movement, and when appropriate, made them leaders. He also said repeatedly that whites were equal victims of segregation, after all, they were missing out on the benefits of a multi-cultural, inclusive society too.
The NAACP, an organization that King worked with and supported, had exactly one founding member who was not white. Other than W.E.B. Dubois, the entire board of directors, or whatever the governing body was called, was white.
When I was in college, I contacted the local office of the NAACP about starting up a university chapter. It bothered me that nothing was happening on campus. The local President told me that I should be the president. I told her that as a white male I wasn’t comfortable with that role, but that I would proudly be a member and would volunteer my time and talents in whatever way the president wanted. She told me not to feel that way, that the NAACP sincerely didn’t care the race of their members or leaders. Well, despite her entreaties, I cared that I was white, and what with history and all, thought it would be in poor taste. I contacted a couple black friends about becoming the president, but they were busy with other commitments. I asked them to ask around. Long story short, no chapter was started, and years later, now that I am reading King, I have decided not to let my race prevent me from serving.
In this week’s speech, King even mentions that its a good sign that whites are now imitating blacks. I feel like King would be happy that a group of white people with laptops and money would decide to give up that privilege be defying unjust laws. Where would we be if King had not read the words of the Indian Gandhi, or if Gandhi hadn’t read the words of the American Thoreau or the Russian Tolstoy?
As for personal sacrifice, I plan to be an attorney someday. I have been accepted to, and hope to attend, an Ivy League law school next fall. If I do so, I will be the first person in my very large family to ever attend a professional school, or a selective school of any sort. That’s a pretty important thing, especially inter-generationally, for someone who shared a mattress (that laid directly on the floor) with my brother until I was 14 or so, who wore homemade blue jeans and t-shirts and ate porridge and drank powdered milk growing up, who’s father did not graduate high school, but always placed immense faith and hope in me, but died before any of those successes could be realized. Aiding an illegal immigrant is a felony. It will result in prison time, not jail time, and it may well disqualify me from every bar in the country. The only thing I can tell you is that I am not embarrassed to quote King to help people realize that there is a more powerful method than they are currently using.
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This next week’s reading will include a really moving story about King’s doubts about civil disobedience when the city of Birmingham refused the movement’s bail bondsman, which meant that people would remain in jail for extended periods of time. It really bothered King, and it really bothers me. The fact that I’m white and arguing for the right of free movement (the lack of which currently victimizes Mexicans) doesn’t bother me.
October 5, 2007 at 11:42 pm
I like what you said John, and in reading your response I feel my initial post came across more negative than I intended. I didn’t mean to argue that white people should not be involved, but I will maintain that they should be conscious of their privilege in their activism. I think you were rightfully uncomfortable with the prospect of being a white male president of an NAACP chapter. I am sorry to hear that a chapter was not started, but it surprises me that no one else was willing to step up. In the groups I was involved with in college, there was a disturbing trend of white males taking leadership roles, again and again…speaking at rallies, facilitating meetings, speaking with administrators, etc. And it WAS because no one else was willing to step up. They argued that the job had to be done, and no one else would volunteer. But the reason, I believe, that only white males were willing to take that role is because no one else felt comfortable. There is a problem when women and people of color don’t feel comfortable in leadership roles. There are reasons for those feelings of discomfort. This may not have been the case in your situation, but in my experience it has been a serious issue in mixed race and gender activist groups.
I certainly agree with you that being white does not disqualify one’s will or efforts, and I am not bothered by arguing for free movement either. And certainly whites are also at risk when performing acts of civil disobedience. Maybe I am naive and overconfident, but whether or not things I have done could be construed to be aiding an illegal immigrant, I have no fear that Homeland Security will come knocking on my door. On the other hand, an illegal immigrant worker will probably not be willing to give his or her name in an interview about their workplace, or agree to be interviewed at all. While being white and a citizen certainly is an advantage that can be utilized in working for free movement and immigrants’ rights, I merely want to point out that there should be a focus on making a safer climate for immigrant activists so that those who feel uncomfortable in leadership roles can be empowered.
October 7, 2007 at 5:08 am
Claire,
It’s more likely that I read it more negatively than it is written.
I will stick by my belief that because all are victims of injustice, all have equal responsibility and opportunity to protest.
I agree, “there is a problem when women and people of color don’t feel comfortable in leadership roles,” but the solution is not for white men to do nothing. I am the only one entirely within my locus of control, so I’ve decided to find my own sacrifice to make. Some laws only immigrants can break; others can only be broken by citizens. I’ll advocate nonviolent civil disobedience of the prior, and hopefully find the courage to practice it in the later.