In light of the horrible Chinese statue that was put up to “honor” Martin Luther King, I want to share this powerful poem by a young man who was only in his twenties when Martin was assassinated, Carl Wendell Hines.
Now that he is safely dead
Let us praise him
build monuments to his glory
sing hosannas to his name.
Dead men make such convenient heroes:
They cannot rise to challenge the images
we would fashion from their lives.
And besides, it is easier to build monuments than
to make a better world.
We must let Hines speak to us as we try to overcome the fear and cynicism that says there is no such thing as a better world. For King is related to all who are called upon to help create the twenty-first century.
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