This is an adapted excerpt from the Jan. 19 episode of “Velshi.”
In Atlanta on April 10, 1960, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed Spelman College, the nation’s oldest historically Black college for women. As a Morehouse man, this was somewhat of a homecoming for King. He told the audience, “Morehouse men always consider it a privilege to speak to Spelman ladies.”
The speech concludes with the line, “If you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving.”
At the time, King’s profile as a civil rights activist was growing and it was the dawn of the nationwide student sit-in movement — a nonviolent civil rights protest tactic. That particular movement started in Greensboro, North Carolina, when a group of Black college students sat at Woolworth’s lunch counter and were denied service. They refused to leave and, the next day, more students joined the sit-in. A wave of sit-ins spread across college towns in the South. People got arrested, the news coverage increased and change, though still years away, was coming.
That day at Spelman College, King gave a speech titled “Keep Moving from This Mountain.” The speech concludes with the line, “If you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving.”
In that speech, King told those college protesters, as well as Black people all over the Jim Crow South and any and all Americans, Black or white, who were seeking a free and just nation, to hold the line. When times get tough, do whatever you have to do, whatever is within your power and ability to do, and hold the line.
On Monday, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Donald Trump was sworn into office for a second time. For many Americans — 75 million, in fact — this is not how they envisioned Inauguration Day playing out. The 75 million American voters hoped for a different outcome.
November’s election was presented as a do-or-die for democracy and for American freedoms. Pregnant women are dying as they lose access to prenatal care and abortion. Parts of the country are, literally, on fire. Political retribution is being promised at the highest levels of the incoming government. Our former president left office with a warning about a new American oligarchy rising to power.
Many of you saw the writing on the wall and did what you felt was right leading up to and on Nov. 5 but it was not enough and here we are. Still, it’s not too late.
Consider this moment your starting line. Your vote on Nov. 5 was important but it was not enough. So for those of us who consider ourselves foot soldiers for democracy, a brand new job has begun — and that job is to find and pave a way forward.Doctors don’t walk into the exam room and decide the patient is too sick to treat. Firefighters don’t show up at the scene and say “This fire’s too big and our ladders aren’t long enough and our hoses won’t reach the top,” and then leave. They, like us, are not given the privilege of saying “This job is too big. It’s too tough.”
In fact, the opposite is true. Never before has your work been more important. We all face situations every day that we did not choose. But what we can always choose is how to respond and, in this case, the response is to find a way forward.
There are tangible things you can do right now: Petition your elected officials about positions you need them to take or to stand against. Volunteer for organizations like Planned Parenthood or community groups fighting book bans. Get involved in your local government, from your community boards to your school boards to your city council. Vote in every election, especially local elections: school board, town council, dogcatcher and don’t forget judges. Exercise your right to vote each and every time it’s available.
Anti-democratic forces have prevailed in the past but not for long because we, the people, did not allow it.
Engage in peaceful protesting and, as the late John Lewis said, “Get in good trouble.” Donate to causes dear to your heart. Don’t eschew politics, being cynical about politics is a privilege for those who have never had to live a day without it. Our ancestors didn’t struggle, fight and, in some cases, die so that we could look away because it all feels like “too much.”At the very least, simply stay informed. There is nothing more powerful than an informed citizen.
This country has faced difficult times, much more difficult than the moment we are living in right now. History is steeped in examples of Americans who persevered through the darkest of times: The Civil War, the original sin of slavery, segregation and Jim Crow. It took time, it took grit, but each time this nation came out at least a little bit better on the other side. That’s thanks to the resolve of our ancestors who fought hard for the freedoms we enjoy today.
Anti-democratic forces have prevailed in the past but not for long because we, the people, did not allow it.
The work before us might take a long time and there’s no way to know where we are in this fight. It’s not a sprint. It’s not even a marathon because, at least when you’re running a marathon, you know how many miles you have left.
This is more of a relay: We push ahead as far and as fast as we can and then we pass the baton to the next person. Passing the baton — over and over again — knowing that every stride gets us closer to our shared goal of reclaiming our democracy.
As Timothy Snyder, a historian and expert on authoritarianism, wrote in his 2017 book, “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century”:
Most of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then offer themselves without being asked. A citizen who adapts in this way is teaching power what it can do.
We cannot obey. We cannot adapt. We must hold the line.Last week, now former President Joe Biden gave his final address to the American people. He said, in part:
We must not be bullied into sacrificing the future, the future of our children and our grandchildren. We must keep pushing forward, and push faster. There is no time to waste … Now it’s your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keeper of the flame. May you keep the faith.
It’s a sentiment that is not unlike the one King shared with the students of Spelman College 65 years ago: “If you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk, crawl; but by all means keep moving.”Dina Moss and Allison Detzel contributed.
