There’s no denying that the only reason the media are doing all they can to turn a few cases of the flu into a pandemic is that scaring people generates super ratings. Unfortunately, the 24/7 coverage being dedicated to this open conspiracy means that truly important stories are being virtually ignored.
Such was the case yesterday when First Lady Michelle Obama presided over the unveiling of a statue of Sojourner Truth at the new Capitol Visitor’s Center in Washington, DC.
Even though not nearly as famous, Truth is as revered for being both an abolitionist and a crusader for women’s rights in the 19th Century, which was highlighted by her “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech in 1851, as Martin Luther King is for being a leader of the black civil rights movement in the 20th Century, which was highlighted by his “I have a Dream” speech in 1963.
I hope that Sojourner Truth would be proud to see me, a descendant of slaves, serving as the first lady of the United States of America.
(Michelle Obama)
But, given the number of statues in the nation’s capital honoring white folks, it says more about America’s failure to give blacks their due that Truth and MLK are the first ones to be memorialized — coincidentally and belatedly, at this same time in US history. The most egregious oversight in this respect being the failure to honor Frederick Douglas:
Friends who have seen the place of honor MLK occupies in my home will be surprised to learn that I am actually conflicted about this dedication. Because as much as I admire MLK, I believe the life, political activism and legacy of Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) make him more worthy of being the first black to be memorialised in this American Pantheon – alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.
[The Mall at last! Mall at last! Thank God Almighty, a black is on the Mall at last! TIJ, November 14, 2006]
But this is Sojourner’s day. Let us rejoice and be glad….
Related commentaries:
Mall at last…Thank God Almighty, a black is on the Mall at last
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