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I Think Dr. King Would Like The Huxtables

Actually, he'd have liked a good chunk of mainstream black TV. Some person with a grudge, or who has a passionate need to defend progressivism, AKA institutionalized bitterness, will point out that they were fictional, and besides, they were upper-middle class. Fine. But they couldn't be portrayed unless people like them existed somewhere. I don't recall ever thinking they were fabulously wealthy, anyway. With a lawyer and a doctor, you could figure, but it appeared to be New York. That isn't the cheapest place to live. In fact, their house looked a lot like the ones I grew up in. It's beside the point, though. The point is, Dr. King would have loved that all kinds of people embraced this fictional family who happened to be black. They were us, in all the ways that are good. You say there is much work to be done, and that colorblindness isn't necessarily possible, and may not be desirable. I agree, as far as it goes. But he had a good dream, a dream worth fighting for and not giving up on, just because it's hard or costly.

There was a hard edge to King, and we lose it sometimes, because he is no longer a man, but an icon. He protected us, he shepherded us, especially us white people, the sons of privilege. He actually fought for justice--something that is owed--but this gets lost, because he loved so greatly. Many of us love and revere him for this, but the truth remains: we owe black America a debt. It's not for any of us to feel bad about ourselves or others, but instead to acknowledge that we may still benefit in all kinds of ways because we are white, and to try to share that privilege if we can. (Because obviously, we can't change our skin, among other things.)

It's all new to me, really. But I know that we're getting closer. We're getting closer, because "I Have A Dream" still moves me. That table of brotherhood sounds like it's worth fighting for. If we don't see it in this nation or in this life, I know that a Jewish carpenter's son gave His life to bring it about in the one to come. I know for sure Dr. King could get behind that.

Let freedom ring!

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