Dr. King's Dream Clouded by SCLC Actions with Michael Vick

When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., moved to establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, racism and violence against African-Americans was at an all-time high. Not since the days of slavery, had minorities experienced such blatant harassment and injury. So when President Charles Steele announced last week that this same organization was looking for ways to honor Michael Vick, one has to wonder if Dr. King rolled over in his grave at the mystery surrounded how an organization he helped to found would look to honor a professional football player indicted on charges of dog fighting.

At the height of the civil rights movement, there was no greater champion than Dr. Martin Luther King. Filled with poise and dignity, his nonviolence stance was ridiculed by many who believed that 'by any means necessary' minorities should be protected. It was King's belief in nonviolence that spoke louder than any speech, save his 'I have a dream' speech that was made on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. When King filled the capital air with the possibilities of racial equality and social harmony, the stage was set for a change in the very fundamental nature of society that is being felt to this day,

When Dr. King arrived in Memphis in April of 1968, he stood in Mason Temple and proclaimed that he had experienced a mountaintop moment where he was allowed to see the promised land. It was this land in biblical times that the children of Israel were brought to where God would give them rest from enemy combatants and the land would be fit for fertile farming. So when King died with his dream unfulfilled and the promise land not yet reached, the struggle had to go on.

With the SCLC, NAACP and ACLU working together, civil liberties were made available for all peoples and this nation is better for it. With those civil liberties King believed in personal responsibility and accountability. When King declared his children not being judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character, it is doubtful that he had Michael Vick on his mind. When King shouted 'let freedom ring', I doubt he believed the SCLC should join Michael Vick in his pursuit of continued freedom.

Two weeks ago, the NFL quarterback was indicted on dog fighting charges in his native Virginia. On land owned by Vick, it is alleged that he funded and helped to operate a dog fighting ring that chose to electrocute or slam to death dogs that proved incapable of winning their fights. After promising his innocence in the media, Michael Vick was banned from the Falcons' training camp and facilities by league commissioner, Robert Goodell.

It is within this quandary that SCLC President Charles Steele found himself in. With the SCLC seeing some measure of revival in the southern states, and its focus returning to its roots of freedom and equality for all people, similar to that of the ACLU, Steele was forced to realize that he had spoken without the consent of the organization and made a decision that was unsupported of today's SCLC as well as profane to the legacy that is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

By the time Steele realized the error of his ways, the SCLC had already become the brunt of jokes and its integrity questioned. Where do Christian and leadership marry with dog fighting and electrocution? This absence furthered the problems that Steele faced until it was announced by SCLC spokesperson David Stokes that the organization had experienced a change of heart and realized that honoring Vick was not a suitable example of the rich heritage and purpose of the SCLC.