In early January of 2011, talk show host Tavis Smiley led a discussion called America’s Next Chapter with a panel of guests that included among others Maria Bartiromo from CNBC, Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post and Dr. Cornel West who commented on Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Dream.”
He said “the problem is this, and this is part of the lies of the mainstream. People have reached the conclusion; Barack Obama is the fulfillment of King’s Dream. That’s not true. That’s not true. Our beloved president is A fulfillment of King’s Dream. He’s not THE fulfillment of King’s Dream. THE fulfillment is poor people, not just Black people but White and Red, not just in this country but around the World! That’s a helluva dream! Martin was that kind of a dreamer we got to be honest about it.”
I agree with that statement. Barack Obama is not the fulfillment of King’s Dream. And MLK did have a huge gap to cross at that time in August of 1963 to envision the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-denominational culture where you were judged by the content of your character rather than the race, nation or creed you came from. Even in religion, people stratify themselves according to race, economics or nationality. Since then, in 1963, we have made many strides in America culturally and have actually, fulfilled King’s Dream with the culture of Hip Hop. The Temple of Hip Hop is proud to be the first to let you know that if you already didn’t know. Yes Martin Luther King’s Dream has in reality been fulfilled! It has been fulfilled by the consciousness that created the true principles that birthed Hip Hop Kulture!
The Gospel of Hip Hop by KRSONE starts with a set of introductory chapters, the third one being called the Promised Land. In this chapter the idea of Hip Hop as the fulfillment of King’s Dream is discussed…
The Gospel of Hip Hop by KRSONE, The Promised Land, pg46-49 v76-88
And when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and hamlet, from every state and city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of GOD’s children—Black men and White men, Jews and Gentiles, Catholics and Protestants—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST! THANK GOD ALMIGHTY! WE ARE FREE AT LAST!' (MLK)
And with this decree, our nation was born! Our King, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in the midst of war, injustice and poverty, saw the coming of a new raceless, classless, unified nation built upon the timeless principles of freedom, justice and equality. He saw the beginnings of what we now call “Hip Hop.”
Our King spoke us into existence. He spoke to and for the generation of his immediate children; those born between the years 1960 and 1970. This generation is the group that would eventually produce Hip Hop.
When our King said, I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their Character, most people assumed that the only nation our King could have been talking about was the United States of America. That one day IT would live up to ITS creed of “all men” being “created equal” with the “unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Indeed our King was talking about America as a nation, but it is clear that he was NOT talking about the America that he was protesting against at the time. He saw a radically different America than even the one that exists today! However, the King’s vision of true racial unity and equal citizenship under the law never fully materialized for the people of the United States.
Most Americans at the time felt that the King’s “I Have a Dream” decree was simply a powerfully moving speech. However, the King’s “Dream” in the realm of prophesy, prediction and instruction was not just (as the average American mind remembers it) protest words for his time. On the contrary, our King was not even speaking for his time; he was speaking for OUR TIME! He said, Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.
Most of what the King said in that famous decree was said in future tense: One day right there in Alabama, little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little White boys and White girls as sisters and brothers.
Most people, because of their own prejudices, refer to the phrase “…as brothers and sisters” figuratively and symbolically. They doubt that “little Black boys and girls” and “little White boys and girls” can actually be real brothers and sisters. And they doubt this because for Black children and White children to become real blood brothers and sisters this would mean the creation of a new race, a new sect of people, a new culture, and a new nation.
As prophesy, the King’s I Have a Dream decree calls a new people and nation into existence. And because he was speaking to the future of those youths (us) born between 1960 and 1970 (Generation X) who became the pioneers of modern Hip Hop and instinctively created the alternative multicultural, multiracial, omni-faithed community that the King predicted, we have realized today that WE are the true citizens of the nation Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamt about. HIP HOP IS THE PROMISED LAND!
Nowhere else in the World is the King’s Dream so accurately expressed as within Hip Hop. Nowhere else in the World is there an international culture that is truly home to all races, classes, ethnicities and religious beliefs without prejudice other than Hip Hop. Sure, individuals may practice such a vision, but as for the social structures and foundations of whole communities, none can match the inclusive nature of Hip Hop today—even the African American community itself has not risen to the character and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Nowhere else in the World is a person truly judged by the “content of their character” as opposed to the “color of their skin” than within Hip Hop. Hip Hop even fulfills the King’s economic strategies for lower income and poor people. HIP HOP IS THE PROMISED LAND.
Our King said, One day on red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. Nowhere has this happened in the World culturally on a mainstream level except within the international community of Hip Hop. In fact, nowhere in the World could this type of unity happen because our King was specific to the historical relationship between Africans and Europeans in America.
As pimped-out, thugged-out, materialistic and drugged-out as we may appear to be today, Hip Hop is still NOT a racist culture. Our existence as a Hip Hop community literally fulfills the prophecy of our King spiritually and historically. Hip Hop is the “freedom” spoken of by the King.
Within our Hip Hop community a person gains money, power and respect through a display of high skill in one or more of Hip Hop’s unique artistic elements. Here, you are truly judged by the “content of your character” (your attributes, your principles, your abilities, your reputation, who you associate with) not by your race or ethnic origin or financial status. Real Hip Hop is beyond all of that. HIP HOP IS THE PROMISED LAND! (KRSONE, the Gospel of Hip Hop)
Now we ask you. Is the Temple of Hip Hop wrong for thinking this way about Hip Hop Kulture? Is Hip Hop the fulfillment of King’s Dream in your eyes? A simple yes or no will do but feel free to comment in depth. Then on January 30th we will be having an open discussion on the importance of King’s Dream and the end of race in the 21st century. Just go to http://hiphoplives.net/ or join us on FB in the Gospel of Hip Hop or the Temple of Hip Hop facebook groups.
Peace and much love,
Kurt Nice,
Exec. Archivist - Temple of Hip Hop
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