Seattle-area parent and radio host make Black youth feel threatened over powerful MLK Jr. Day poem
Image of MLK Jr. under attack was taken from Time Magazine, Bettmann / Getty Images, Martin Luther King Jr Photo: The Story Behind Chicago Attack | Time
On January 17th 2022, The North Thurston High School, presented a virtual assembly for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. During the assembly a Black youth shared a poem in honor of MLK Jr’s legacy.
The poem upset a parent (referred to as a Mexican mother in the attached article). Rantz: Seattle-area school uses MLK Jr. Day to bash police and USA - MyNorthwest.com, (Jason Rantz, 2021).
The parent forwarded the video to a conservative radio station 770KTTH, where its host Jason Rantz, posted the video on twitter @jasonrantz, and asked, “Is this what the holiday is meant for?”
The answer to that question is an obvious, resounding, YES! That is exactly what it’s meant for.
Quick history-White America only plays the gentle part of the I have a dream speech, where MLK Jr, states his dream of little Black boys and girls holding hands with little White boys and girls, and Blacks being judged by their character not their color. They don’t show MLK Jr. criticizing America about racism, injustice and inequality. They don’t show him saying there will be uprising and unrest until we have justice.
And in 2022, 54 years after MLK Jr’s murder, Black people are still facing these same issues. ---No theories, just Facts and Truths.
If you want a deeper education, you can read the full transcript or watch the video Transcript of Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech : NPR
In his article regarding the poem, Rantz states “Anti-police and anti-America messages on display.”
Let’s dissect each line from the poem to see if we can find a Lie or any anti-police or anti-America messages. And also see why Critical Race Facts are being opposed by Whites preferring the continued teaching of White Racial Theory.
Poetry lines are highlighted in BOLD.
“But I’m convinced nothing will change as long as there are people fighting for Confederate monuments,” TRUTH!!! –
Confederate states, went to war against their own country over “the prosperous economic system of slavery and their determination to keep it.” And those statues were erected to honor racist leaders of that war. Causes Of The Civil War | History Detectives | PBS ,
American Civil War | Causes, Definition, Dates, History, & Facts | Britannica
“As long as there are people out there continuing to capitalize on Black lives, as long as there are people who really believe that our votes aren’t denied.” TRUTH!!!
This is happening now with the debate over voting rights. Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell’s allies likewise “insist that the filibuster wasn’t created specifically for racist purposes but is merely one tool that was used to protect white supremacy.” “Of course, the Senate filibuster has been used to protect segregation and slavery. Lots of the tools of American democracy were used at one point or another to protect segregation and slavery. But by custom, it was used rarely and almost always for the purpose of blocking civil-rights bills.” Here’s Why the Filibuster Is a Jim Crow Relic (nymag.com), (Jonathan Chait, 2021.)
McConnell accuses Dems of 'fake hysteria' over 'Jim Crow relic' filibuster they used last week | Fox News, (Tyler Owens, 2021)
As far as capitalizing on Black Lives--- Marketers Are Underpaying Black Influencers While Pushing Black Lives Matter - Bloomberg, (Sarah Frier, 2021)
Does anyone else see the TRUTH?!!
The student then asks, “does anyone know what the colors of the American Flag represent?”
He explains that the flag’s “red represents, “the blood we shed building a country that sees us as less than human.” “It stands for “the blood for a system that puts us behind bars for profit.” TRUTH!!!
I will assume Rantz knows his American history. I will also assume he knows American history is also Black history. I’m sure Rantz was watching the news over the last several years and saw innocent unarmed Black people murdered by police.
“Armed Black people were killed at 2.6 times the rate of armed white people.” “Among unarmed victims, Black people were killed at three times the rate. Racial disparity in police shootings unchanged over 5 years | YaleNews , (Brita Belli, 2020.)
And before some pretend genius uses White America’s favorite plea “what about Black-on-Black crime?” The answer is “What about White-on-White crime?” More importantly, “What about White youth shooting up schools’ crime?”
“In 2018, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that 81% of white victims were killed by white offenders” Fact check: Meme shows incorrect homicide stats by race (usatoday.com), (Camille Caldera, 2020.)
Another report conducted in 2018 showed “80% percent of White murders are committed by White offenders” Fact check: False data on U.S. racial murder rates | Reuters, 2018
The poem continues, as the teen explains what the white in the flag, represents. “purity of little Black boys and girls who are victim to a one-way ticket to prison, the purity of our minds and who we are as a people being broken down and walked on like a concrete sidewalk.”--- OPINION!!! rooted in some FACTS. This is where theory happens.
The next section, describing the blue in the flag. Rantz tells us before we read “The teen isn’t fond of the police.”--- OPINION!!!
“heroes, defenders of what’s right and wrong during the day and night but struggle to refrain from taking innocent life.” They choke you up and beat you down, thinking if they can’t wipe the color from your skin, they’ll watch it go out in your eyes,” he rhymes. “And just like that, you’re another Black body disenfranchised by the system that claims to see everyone as equal in its eyes. That’s a lie. More lies more poisonous than the tear gas that they attack us with. Tired of seeing police chiefs come to stand and read apologies like an actor reads this line off a page.” --- TRUTH!!!
They are HEROES-except for the ones who struggle with what he describes. The attached article might help America understand the TRUTH & OPINION behind his beliefs-especially considering how much America loves Veterans. Army vet risked his life to expose who was in the KKK : NPR, (The Associated Press,2021)
White Supremacist Infiltration of US Police Forces: Fact-Checking National Security Advisor O’Brien (justsecurity.org), (Danielle Schulkin, 2020)
Where does it say he’s not fond of the police? HE CALLS THEM HEROES. Where does he Lie? He is talking about incidents that have happened in public and shown on the news.---ALL FACTS AND TRUTH.
But since Derrick Chauvin’s conviction, America has forgotten that Black Lives Matter, and about George Floyd, Eric Gardner, and Breonna Taylor, and those terrible murders aren’t even the most recent.
In my opinion, he believes we need Police, but because of certain individuals, the system does need to be reformed. And to fix any misunderstanding (reform does not mean abolish)
“ Black criminals are sentenced in bias trials for “committing the worst crime of Black Heritage.”--- TRUTH!!!
“Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly 5 times the rate of white Americans.” The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons | The Sentencing Project, (Ashley Nellis Ph.D, 2021.)
The poet also holds Blacks that commit crimes accountable. But he also shows Blacks as humans, who make mistakes, and should be treated equal to White teens that commit extreme acts of violence and are shown compassion regarding their surroundings, upbringing and mental health.
Rantz writes, “an angry young man critical of the country in which he lives and the System of Oppression, that victimizes him and other Black Americans. --- “TRUTH!!!
The young man is and should be critical about the system of oppression.
(Remember)-Anti-maskers constantly protest about wearing masks that help save lives and stop the spread of a deadly virus because they feel oppressed.
Rantz wrote, “It was a critical race theory anthem meant to use a peer to continue to indoctrinate youth into buying the far-left views administrators and progressive, activist students hold.”---LIES!!! From viral videos to Fox News: how rightwing media fueled the critical race theory panic | US education | The Guardian
Actual- Truthful indoctrination is the brainwashing done by Charles Manson to his followers. David Koresh to his followers. Hitler to the Nazis. Donald Trump, to his Alt right, Proud Boy, All Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, Insurrectionist followers.
(Remember)- some of these movements began after Obama was elected and became more powerful during Trump’s presidency. And all of them happened because Black people wanted equal rights-which is exactly why the KKK was founded to end Black people from progressing., https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/kkk-founded, (January 2022)
(Never forget that the KKK also came out and endorsed trump) ALL TRUTH, NO THEORY!!!
TRUTH is, White American history and racism is theorized because it leaves out facts. So, the poems critical tone about race is very necessary.
What part of Black, People of Color, and Immigrants suffering racism, injustice, and inequality in America and throughout its history is theory? (None---It’s all TRUTH!!!)
The good and bad parts of history must be taught, studied, learned, and discussed without malice. Or else we will keep repeating it. That is TRUTH, regardless of what side you support.
In the article, Rantz explains how “one daughter/student watching the video felt compulsory.
I have to say, that is disappointing. If a child doesn’t want to watch a video of poetry celebrating MLK Jr, they shouldn’t have to. But they should watch a documentary on MLK Jr’s journey and his fight for civil rights to know and see what really happened.
Truth is critical, and it will show during the civil rights movement that MLK Jr. faced extreme racism. Blacks were hated, lynched, hung, and beat for peacefully marching. They received this treatment from the American government, White parents, and their little White girls and boys, the police and fire departments.
People should also see how the White allies that sided with MLK Jr. were also hated and beat. Sounds familiar right? --- No theory. Just FACTS and TRUTH!!!
The mother who forwarded the article to Rantz, said she “thinks an adult put the youth up to the poem because she can’t imagine a kid going through these issues.”
Ahhhh, to this I ask, do you know what country you live in? Or more importantly, for this instance, What school district your non-White child attends? (I assume the child is not White, because the mother referred to herself as Mexican.)
You are in the school district where high school teachers tell black students to “come to the front of the class and pick cotton to see what it feels like to be a slave.”
The school’s response to the incident was “North Thurston Public Schools deeply apologizes for the hurt and offense this classroom activity inflicted on our students.” Local students allegedly made to participate in cotton-picking activity; school district apologizes – KIRO 7 News Seattle, (2021)
This is a school district where White narrators read the audio of White American literature describing Black people as Niggers in Freshman English classes, with the only explanation being “you all are adults, and this is just how they spoke back then.” Ignoring the FACT and TRUTH, that Blacks are still fighting the same racism today. (The school handled this incident internally)
Your child is in a school district where the word Nigger gets painted on walls, and the Black custodians have to remove it. (The school handled this incident internally)
Your child is in a school district where non-Black students attend high school basketball games and taunt Black players with monkey noises, and then post it on social media to traumatize Black students. Racist incident at Capital vs. River Ridge basketball game | Tacoma News Tribune (thenewstribune.com) (The father of the child who was subjected to the racism, posted the incident on Facebook and has had several requests to remove the video.) Silence increases the Theory that racism doesn’t exist.
This school district classified Asian students as White instead of People of Color (POC), because they performed too well, - aka-were too smart not to be any race other than White. WA school district apologizes for excluding Asians as POC (nwasianweekly.com), (2020)
Maybe the mother doesn’t realize sending articles to right wing media outlets greenlights further attacks against Black youth.
To that mother, I hope you realize brown skinned people are also who MLK Jr. was fighting for, and the Black youth that made you so upset was also speaking up for.
If you want to know the truth about critical race theory, study the FACTS! Martin Luther King Jr. who obviously, FACTUALLY-TRUTHFULLY, believed All Lives mattered, wanted to protect, and improve All lives but knew that couldn’t happen without improving the lives of Blacks and other oppressed people.
Study the FACTS and TRUTHS of why the Black Lives Matter movement was founded, and how they have the same dream as MLK Jr. and the civil rights movement---TRUTH!!!
Also study the history behind why both movements were met with racism and how their White allies were demonized. ---ALL TRUTH, no theory!!!
Rantz also wrote “School districts across America are going woke at all costs.”---LIES!!!
If that were true, we wouldn’t have a rise in racism. From viral videos to Fox News: how rightwing media fueled the critical race theory panic | US education | The Guardian, (Julie Carrie Wong, 2021)
FBI says hate crimes against Asian and Black people rise in the U.S. (cnbc.com), (Dan Mangan, 2021.)
To the passionate young Black, Gifted Poet,
The only thing you need to fear is quitting when they try to force, seduce, or use fear tactics to stop you from telling the truth. Keep educating yourself. Read and learn the Black side, and the White side of thought. It is all written for you to study and televised for you to watch, learn, and understand, while gaining knowledge and wisdom.
Base your insights on FACTS and TRUTH. And just as White people are proud of their heritage, be proud of yours. It’s a privilege they cannot remove. Keep your composure because these people know what they do. They will instigate negative responses so you can prove you are an angry Black…… Never believe racists are stupid. Because if they were, they would not control some of the most powerful and profitable institutions.
Lastly, your poem was perfect, it carried on Martin Luther King Jr’s tradition.
“There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.” Martin Luther King Jr. Transcript of Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech : NPR
Full MLK Jr. Day poem can be heard in the last 6 minutes of the link below. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E5hWFGBTdwrv01UV06OVymbbhiXWFvDm/view?usp=drivesdk
