Douglas: “My Hope Is That We Teach On Martin Luther King Day”

Synopsis of interview with Dr. James Douglas, president of the NAACP, Houston Branch:

Q: As a nation, do we still struggle with inequalities rooted in prejudice hostilities & fear?
A: Yes, with recent killings of unarmed African American men by law enforcement, “under-education” of minority kids, and economic and health disparity between whites and blacks. It’s something I predicted 35 years ago, heading back to “Post Reconstruction.”

Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King on 1964, leaning on a lectern. Image credit: Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division

Q: In that sense, do people forget about the gains made by Dr. King?
A: Analogy of taking antibiotics to get rid of infection, symptoms may disappear, but not the infection.

Q: Do we need a stronger antibiotic?
A:  No, keep taking antibiotic until infection is gone.

Q: How does MLK Holiday observance help us overcome that struggle?
A: My hope is to teach what MLK’s efforts were about, with the hope that younger generation won’t make the same mistakes made by older generation. Recalls a study how kids of parents involved in the civil rights movement were put in integrated schools to eliminate racism. But racism was not discussed & segregation resulted. 

Full interview