Dear Neighbors,
I hope you had a restful weekend.
For me, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a day I spend contemplating the ways in which I can work for justice, and a day that makes me nostalgic for my time as a college student at Boston University (BU), where Dr. King received his PhD.
In the fall of 1989, I took a course from Professor John H. Cartwright called, “The Life and Thought of Martin Luther King, Jr.” I spent many hours in the School of Theology’s library, studying the theologians who influenced Dr. King, and learning about Dr. King’s life and work. I felt so proud and inspired to be attending the same institution he had, reading some of the very same texts.
Last year, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi joined BU as the Director and Founder of the Center for Antiracist Research. Dr. Kendi is the author of How to Be an Antiracist, which received increased attention after the killing of George Floyd and the necessary conversation around systemic and institutional racism in this country. I spent many hours listening to Dr. Kendi reading the audio version of his book while I worked in my garden this summer, in between special sessions of the legislature and my work with colleagues on police reform and accountability legislation. I have renewed pride in being an alum of Boston University as a result of Dr. Kendi’s recent affiliation with the school. I highly recommend Dr. Kendi’s thought-provoking book, and that you listen to him read the audio version.
We all have a lot of work to do to build an anti-racist society. It is not enough to *not be racist.* We have to dismantle the harm that racism has done. I’m committed to doing this work as the leader of the Minnesota House.
Last summer, Representative Ruth Richardson and the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus provided important leadership in bringing forward a proposed resolution declaring racism to be a public health crisis. The Minnesota House passed the resolution on July 20, 2020, and established a Select Committee on Racial Justice, co-chaired by Reps. Rena Moran and Ruth Richardson. This session, the House will be taking a very close look at the recommendations from the Select Committee. Our work on racial justice cannot be an afterthought – we cannot have a couple of equity provisions or equity investments in our bills. Equity and racial justice must pervade all the policy work we do.
As MLK Day approached this year and after the dark days we’ve experienced as a nation, I’ve been thinking of one of Dr. King’s most famous quotes:
“Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
In his book, Stride Toward Freedom, Dr. King wrote about the kind of love that is required to drive out hate and darkness. It’s not romantic love, it is not the love we have for family and friends. It is a bigger, more powerful kind of love than that. The kind of love he wrote and spoke about was the kind expressed by the Greek word agape. It’s worth taking the time to reflect on what Dr. King wrote about this love:
“Agape means understanding, redeeming good will for all . . . [i]t is an overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless, and creative. It is not set in motion by any quality or function of its object. It is the love of God operating in the human heart. . . It is a love in which the individual seeks not his own good, but the good of his neighbor (I Cor. 10:24). . . .
Agape is not a weak, passive love. It is love in action. Agape is love seeking to preserve and create community. . .
Love, agape, is the only cement that can hold this broken community together. When I am commanded to love, I am commanded to restore community, to resist injustice, and to meet the needs of my brothers.”
I hope you’re able to take a moment to pause and reflect on the principles that guided Dr. King, and the revolutionary idea that together we can drive out darkness and hate, deploying the power of love to build a nation that lives up to its ideals of liberty and justice for all.
Sincerely,
Melissa Hortman