by David Mullings
SOUTH FLORIDA – The USA marks the legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tomorrow, as they’ve for many years. However few Individuals can be mentioning his go to to Jamaica in 1965 and what he mentioned about that journey. The Most Hon. Edward Seaga, a former Prime Minister of Jamaica, wrote in quantity 1 of his guide My Life and Leadership that “This deal with was memorable as an eloquent name to motion to problem black folks to carry out with pleasure no matter they did in order that they might not be denied respect.”
I by no means appreciated how fortunate I used to be to be born in a rustic that had black bankers, attorneys, judges, medical doctors, policeman, prime ministers and so forth till I got here to america of America. I at all times questioned why Black Individuals appeared to not make the most of the land of alternative. As soon as I began school in 1996 in Florida, I shortly realized how critical racism was and the way that inequality may compound over centuries to generate the outcomes we have been seeing then. Sadly, the USA has made progress however it has been too little and too gradual, with threat of sliding additional again this November.
First Go to to Jamaica
MLK Jr. got here to Jamaica and mentioned that “In Jamaica, I really feel like a human being” which is a transparent reminder that not solely is the nation majority black, it was identified for its hospitality, the heat of the folks. 4 million tourists will flock to Jamaica’s shores this yr for a similar cause.
He liked Jamaica a lot that he returned 2 years later to finish the manuscript for his guide Where Do We Go From Here. The Jamaica Gleaner archives say that “He selected Jamaica, not solely as a result of it offered a possibility to replicate with out distractions, however as a result of his spirit and imaginative and prescient have been impressed by ‘this unbiased black nation’.”
Jamaica has a particular place on this planet after being the primary nation to talk out in opposition to the Apartheid Regime in South Africa. We stood up for what was proper as a result of it was the precise factor to do. We spoke out in opposition to injustice. We now not do this.
MLK Jr. was so moved by his journey to Jamaica after seeing how Jamaicans behaved in the direction of one another in 1965 that he mentioned the next in a later speech:
“Right here you’ve folks from many nationwide backgrounds: Chinese language, Indians, so-called Negroes, and you may simply go down the road, Europeans, European and other people from many, many countries. Are you aware all of them dwell there they usually have a motto in Jamaica, ‘Out of many individuals, one folks.’ They usually say, ‘Right here in Jamaica we’re not Chinese language, we’re not Japanese, we’re not Indians, we’re not Negroes, we’re not Englishmen, we’re not Canadians. However we’re all one large household of Jamaicans.’
Someday, right here in America, I hope that we are going to see this and we’ll change into one large household of Individuals. Not white Individuals, not black Individuals, not Jewish or Gentile Individuals, not Irish or Italian Individuals, not Mexican Individuals, not Puerto Rican Individuals, however simply Individuals. One large household of Individuals.”
America by no means grew to become that large household and Jamaica, influenced closely by American media and interference, is now not one large household. Allow us to replicate on the phrases of the good Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and try to be one large household in whichever nation we name dwelling.
David P.A. Mullings is the Chairman and CEO of Blue Mahoe Holdings, Inc., a non-public firm targeted on giving retail buyers access to investments throughout the Caribbean area and served as the primary Future Leaders Consultant for the USA on the Jamaica Diaspora Advisory Board.
