Honoring Dr. King
Q&A with Spoon and Mariah Swartz
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on this day is hardly enough thanks. The shift he made in civil rights, peace, and connections for generations to come still moves us, Rabbits of Realness, deeply. I, Mariah, chatted with Spoon to get his insights on what his big takeaways of MLK and his movements were, and this is his perspective:
Mariah: Out of Dr. King’s speeches, what phrase stuck out to you the most? Why?
Spoon: “….one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." -MLK Jr. I had never heard that phrase until I was at trial, the D.A used it in court as his closing statement, as he often made racial comments during his arguments. I was naive, unsure of what it meant and how it affected me.
Spoon: Growing up in the desert and being young, I didn’t know who MLK was until I went to jail and started studying civil rights movements, philosophy, MLK, Malcom X, etc. I became a lover of words, a real student in life!
Mariah: Growing up in Montana, of course we addressed his movements, his speeches, identified why he was a societal figure. However, it always felt ‘taboo’ and that bothered me. The words ‘African American’ were always in a hushed tone, you’d never catch any of my educators saying, ‘black man’ or ‘negro’, even if sharing his speech directly. It was almost like people were afraid to speak up about him and his justices he worked so hard for. So, it has me thinking, Spoon,
have we, as a nation, accomplished his dreams?
Spoon: Some young people have learned to embrace peace and friendship on a real level, yes. However, people are selfish with the white privileges they have and still see sharing with people of color, fellow Americans of color, as wrong.
Mariah: I agree. Living in a biracial household, I still, quite frequently, see people and strangers interact with my family, who are of color, very differently. Having been in the legal system through this shift, and over the years, do you think your race has/had anything to do with your sentence term?
Spoon: Yes. Former President Jimmy Carter said, '“justice system in America is inherently racist.” Though I have nothing else to say about it, I know young folk now are seeing color only as skin deep.
First Lady Rosalynn Carter, (left to right) President Jimmy Carter, Coretta Scott King, Christine King Farris, the sister of the Rev. Martin Luther King, and U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young all sing during a reception held at the White House to honor the organization Friends of Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Social Change. Credit: Associated Press.
Mariah: Thank you for sharing that, I know it was a forward question, but it always plays in the back of my mind, those who are of color and seem to have a different sentence than those who are not colored and commit the same crime. For people that didn’t or still don’t support Dr. King, what do you have to say to them?
Spoon: Listen to my song, Look Away!
Mariah: Any other words of wisdom, thoughts, ideas, for people conquering this world?
Spoon: I am proud of the young people in America who are trying to embrace King’s vision. Young folk gather and share love, truth, and they understand color is skin deep. Some people have learned to embrace the peace and friendship King was striving for. Imagine what we all could do if we come together and be one people, one love, and not be identified by race.
Mariah: Thank you Spoon, truly, for sharing your ideas as we celebrate King today.
If you’d like to write to Spoon, he’d love to hear from you. Spoon is as open, welcoming, and encouraging as people come; any letter writing would make his day. Thanks for joining, let us know what questions you have for Spoon, we’d be happy to have Spoon answer them.
