Words for sale?
This year, let’s notice when Dr. King’s words are used to sell us something. After all, justice, equality, and love are commitments, not commodities.
Every time I teach my class on effective professional communication, I start by asking students to choose someone they believe is a powerful communicator and share their rationale, with examples.
Each term, a popular choice is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The examples are often (but not always) from his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March for Jobs and Freedom; that iconic moment when he turned from his prepared text and began to preach, prompted by gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Occasionally, a quote from another speech or context is used, almost always positive, almost always about love and justice.
I celebrate this - especially keeping in mind that most of these students were born decades after Dr. King’s assassination, and many of them did not grow up in the United States. They come from Asian and African countries, among others, and know of Dr. King and his ability to transfix an audience. Their choices are not simply about rhetorical skill, they explain: his words mean something to them.
When this class coincides with the national holiday honoring Dr. King, I also notice a sharp contrast between genuine respect for his words and their commoditization as cover for sales and marketing, or worse, cover for actions that directly contradict his work. I cannot help but wonder what he would think about a nation that honors him with a holiday while too many of its so-called leaders move farther and farther from the bedrock principle of equality under the law, subverting voting rights and access, ginning up culture wars, and scapegoating and dehumanizing their fellow humans.
In that same class exercise, there are always a couple of choices that I (and other students) find problematic: powerful communicators who used that power to questionable ends. This term, I was impressed by the students’ willingness to name their reactions to those problems without disparaging their peers who made the selections.
So this year, let’s notice when Dr. King’s words are used to motivate, inspire, and challenge us; and when they are used to sell us something. If the latter, let’s not buy it.
After all, justice, equality, and love are commitments, not commodities.
Be safe and well.