The Fierce Urgency of Now

By Retanio Aj Rucker

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (after this referred to as “Dr. King”) was born a “Negro” in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929. Despite this “accident of birth,” some scholars have theorized that Dr. King’s emergence as a civil rights leader, both locally and nationally, was inevitable given the time he was born. Privately, Dr. King was impressed by the pattern of coincidences and accidental good timing typical to the lives of famous men. On the other hand, he wondered what he believed to be the Lord’s work. As such, the man that Dr. King would ultimately become was not necessarily, from his perspective, inevitable.

The first step on his path to becoming a local and national civil rights leader was to choose a career. Dr. King’s decision required years of careful and deliberate thought. Should he become an attorney, a doctor, or a minister? At one point in his life, Dr. King dismissed the ministry as a vocation because he thought it was too unintellectual and too archaic to speak effectively on contemporary issues. This decision was further complicated by the fact that until he was fifteen (15) years of age, Dr. King had up to three (3) months of schooling in any given year. Despite this disadvantage, Dr. King could attend and graduate from Morehouse College (after this, referred to as “Morehouse”) in Atlanta, Georgia. After his Morehouse experience, Dr. King decided to pursue a Bachelor of Divinity Degree. Thereby preparing him to be the leader he would eventually become.

We celebrated Dr. King’s life and legacy on Monday, January 16, 2023. His struggle in deciding upon which career path to pursue was pivotal. Would we have heard about The Dream if Dr. King had decided to become an attorney or a doctor rather than a minister? If Dr. King had become an attorney or a doctor, would we have received The Letter From A Birmingham Jail? Would there have been a March on Washington? Would The Edmund Pettus Bridge have become the symbol of freedom we understand it to be today? Would we have met Mrs. Coretta Scott King or Congressman John Lewis, among others?

The struggle for democracy and economic, political, and societal freedom for all people, i.e., the American Dream, is ongoing. This dream has yet to be realized by People of Color, other minorities, the LGBTQIA+ Community, and women as a collective. The right to vote has still not been secured for all Americans despite the bloody sacrifices of our Ancestors. And unfortunately, slavery has not been eradicated despite the “promise” of the Thirteenth Amendment. This struggle is interwoven into Dr. King’s life and legacy. In other words, how can we make the American Dream achievable no matter a person’s age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation? Just as this struggle is part and parcel of Dr. King’s life and legacy, so is the blueprint for achieving this goal. Specifically, Dr. King said: We are faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.

Consequently, to realize Dr. King’s Dream, we must be ever-vigilant. We must continue the fight against oppression. We must stand in the breech and repel the forces of darkness. We must leave a legacy for those who come after us to follow. As we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King, we must be mindful that each of us is destined from birth for a specific purpose. Find it! Accept it! Let your particular purpose parallel. Dr. King’s life and legacy. Be mindful that our choices are pivotal because the ultimate measure of a man or woman is not where he or she stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he or she stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Don’t be fooled! We live in challenging and controversial times. The fierce urgency of our now is upon us. This is our time! How will you be remembered?