By Jim Miller
This year our ritual celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. comes in the midst of a contentious mayoral election. And while some might try to bracket this year’s remembrance off from the ugly fray, that would be a mistake. As I noted in an earlier column on this subject, remembering “a sanitized version of King as a vanilla saint who called on us to just move beyond our differences does a disservice to him and his legacy” because “[o]ur collective remembrance of MLK is most useful when it troubles us.”
And King would be deeply troubled to see where we are today nationally and locally. Yes, the man who said, “one day we must come to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring” would be profoundly disturbed by the fact that we are living in an era of historic economic inequality.
He would decry the reality that here in San Diego the wealthiest 20% of households take in half of all income in the region while more than 28% of working San Diegans earn less than a self sufficient wage and one out of five children in San Diego lives in poverty.
The man who said that “The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress” and who died as he was fighting for the economic rights of striking public sector sanitation workers would be dismayed by the current national assault on labor and the public sector itself. King would note that if there is radicalism afoot today, it is not coming from those pointing to the existence of a glaring and growing inequality, but from those who claim that all public institutions are suspect, that taxes are inherently evil, and that business models and yet more privatization and outsourcing can solve everything.
Here in San Diego, he would recognize the constant anti-union drumbeat on the right and in much of the mainstream press as part of what helps sustain “an edifice which creates beggars.” By consistently assailing the last remaining segment of working people with union jobs and a strong political voice, the anti-union drumbeat serves not to raise everyone up, but to drag everyone down into the same hole.
MLK would look at Kevin Faulconer and his corporate backers with their opposition to raising the minimum wage, maintaining prevailing wages, affordable housing measures, and self determination for working class communities of color as part of the problem.
And King, who recognized that racism and economic inequality are inextricably linked would survey the current political landscape here in San Diego and see the fundamental injustice being done by those waging a malicious and dishonest campaign against the Barrio Logan Community Plan and call it out as environmental racism at its worst—powerful corporate interests trying to run roughshod over a working class community of color.
He would also look at the insidiously racist campaign being funded by the local Lincoln Club, condemn it for what it is, and note Faulconer’s complicity with it. King would underline the fact that moneyed interests are playing the race card to divide and conquer San Diego. He’d point out, as Tom Shepard did recently, that, “Using racism as a tactic in a campaign is one of the things that is not considered ethical.”
>As a scholar of local African American history, UCSD’s Mychal Odom sees even Faulconer’s efforts to pose with selected African American leaders South of 8 in a web ad as part of a divide and conquer strategy: “Faulconer’s ad aims to exploit contests between Black and Brown San Diegans for jobs, education, housing, and public space.” But the real legacy of Martin Luther King, Odom observes, was something altogether different, “Take for example the poor peoples’ movement. Dr. King aimed to unite a multiracial coalition over working class concerns. Even here these issues have historically been a cause for San Diegans of color to mobilize together. Faulconer’s ad is neither in the spirit of civil rights struggles in San Diego nor in Dr. King’s legacy.”
King would surely see the current mayor’s race in San Diego as a contest between David Alvarez, a living embodiment of his legacy, and its antithesis in Kevin Faulconer. The Alvarez story tells us that even the working class son of a fast food worker and a janitor from the barrio can not just make it, but lead us, represent “us.” It is a redemptive tale that elevates us all. It suggests that the “arc of history” does “bend toward justice” and inspires us to dream of a beloved community that rejects a politics that pits neighbor against neighbor in the service of the interests of those already blessed with abundance.
Indeed, if Dr. King were with us he would undoubtedly note the fact that this is a political contest between those who have historically held economic and political power for most of San Diego’s history and those who want to make city hall open for everyone, regardless of their pedigree. King would call on us to reject fear and division and vote for a San Diego that embraces the beauty of its diversity and sees the great possibility that comes with raising everyone up. He’d remind us that we can only really live up to the creed that we are “America’s Finest City” when we do the deed of giving everyone a place at the table.
For doing so MLK would be condemned by the editorial page of the San Diego Union-Tribune as a radical, attacked by local right wing radio for being an extremist tool of the unions, and chastised for being too hard on CEOs by the Voice of San Diego. One can only imagine the kind of bile the Lincoln Club would send to your mailbox about him. But he wouldn’t be dissuaded.
The real Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would surely tell us we need to move forward with a “divine dissatisfaction” until we “no longer have a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds. Let us be dissatisfied until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort and the inner city of poverty and despair shall be crushed by the battering rams of the forces of justice. Let us be dissatisfied until those that live on the outskirts of hope are brought into the metropolis of daily security.”
Jim Miller
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Jim,
Its pathetic that one praises people before they actual have a body of work to stand on. How soon one forgets Obama was the new King with his “Hope and Change.” Yet he signs drone death certificates, eliminates our 4th amendment rights, refuses to support whistle blowers or Occupy, let corporate bankers off with civil fines when they should be criminal prosecuted, refused to support single payer health care and instead gave us a health care system largely written by the health lobbyists. Oh and Obama wins the Nobel Peace prize for WHAT??? etc..etc.. Maybe David will achieve success, but lets wait. His success will depend not only on his will but the will of the people to demand change.
Let’s stick with the current SD election, please. Jim makes very good points.
We have a choice to make in our local mayoral elections, and I’m for David as he’s for what Martin Luther King, Jr. stood for. One thing that is big with me is the minimum wage issue. Faulconer talks about bringing good jobs here, and puts down unions. What does he think union jobs are ? Why did unions come into being? And what about those thousands of minimum wage workers? What will Faulconer do for them? Nothing. He thinks they should continue getting their lousy wage so the company owners can continue to make their money. I was very surprised and pleased to hear a multimillionaire businessman Republican Ron Unz (who ran for political office back in the 80’s) talk about the min. wage issue. He thinks it should be $12.00 an hr. ; he doesn’t buy the company line “I’ll move out of the state if the min. wage is raised” and knows that those jobs will not be shipped overseas or out of state. Fast food is all over and so are WalMarts, which is a perfect example of what is wrong with our system which has now given us the biggest gap between the rich and the poor. Walmart owners pay their low wages and yet in the top 10 richest families in the world. Something is wrong with this picture.
Martin L. King, Jr. deserves his credit and I thank you Jim for your comparing his philosophy and principles with what’s currently going on in this country.
John, I suggest you google “A Wage Hike Campaign from an Unlikely Source” which was on NPR a couple days ago.
Nancy: You got it.
John: You don’t.
Jim: Exquisitely written…
We already voted for David for Mayor of San Diego.
Agree with John Eisenhart that David has a short 3 year record. Let us see some action and leadership immediately, and not have to wait until February 9, 2014 for justice. The two Homeless Emergency Winter Tents are set to close on March 30, 2014. We need certainty, action, and follow-through.
David Alvarez and Toni Atkins offices could have a great win to show David’s leadership ability and working relationship with State Officials by negotiating additional Meet and Confer meetings, and changes to Recognized Obligation Payment Schedules (ROPS) for the Successor Agency (SA) to the Redevelopment Agency (RDA). Civic San Diego and the City Attorney has sabotaged negotiations in favor of the downtown crowd. At the expense of the poor. As usual.
http://www.tinyurl.com/20131209
http://www.tinyurl.com/20131121c
After exactly Two Months, still no movement on getting a meeting with State Department of Finance (DOF) officials to present our evidence, which would keep the $167 Million Due Diligence Review (DDR) Payment within City limits. This is the money former Mayor Filner promised to move from downtown Civic San Diego’s Private Purpose Trust Fund (PPTF) for “Neighborhood Services” aka unfunded staff costs of Civic San Diego, the Office of the City Attorney, Outside Legal Counsel, and unknown private outside consultants to our Neighborhoods.
Instead of Civic San Diego Private Purpose Trust Fund (PPTF), the $1 Billion in assets should go to the San Diego Housing Trust Fund and the City’s public General Fund. Like every other California City.
John, I didn’t see any experience on the Faulconer for Mayor website that was before his time on the City Council. What’s he hiding?
A very smart young person with diverse happenings in his life can be a lot smarter than an older person. Both men present themselves well; Alvarez is an poised as Faulconer.
Alvarez’s background should be filled out more than he does; he went to college on a 4 yr. scholarship, and worked under Denise Ducheny for 3 yrs. when she was in Sacramento; he also taught at afterschool program and was a social worker.
He is married to a very smart woman who is a principal. They are a dynamic team that came from the bottom and worked hard to get where they are.
But the bottom line in my book is that he knows the human condition of more than just a middle class existence, which is what Faulconer lacks. You can see what else Faulconer is wrong on in my first entry.