Opinion: Knuck If You…Have A Dream?

On January 21, 2008, Martin Luther King Jr. day, I was driving in my car and got an opportunity to hear the remix to the “I Have a Dream” speech. But wait! There’s a remix?

This particular radio disc jockey decided that he and his listeners should take the time out of their day to remember the man who is supposed to be celebrated during our beloved four-day weekend. As Dr. King begins to speak, I notice a song playing in the background. I notice that his speech is being played to a catchy, up-tempo beat. I notice that Dr. King’s speech is being played over top of the hip hop song, “Knuck if you Buck” – a song in which the artists threaten to beat people up for talking to them wrong or questioning their authority. Now, if the title and description don’t do enough for you, the artists who created this song go by the name “Crime Mob.”  Both just scream “freedom,” don’t you think?

Please make no mistakes. I am not criticizing this hip-hop group for creating the song. I must admit, I have heard the song and have been amazed at how excited people get when it plays at a social gathering. I also do not choose to criticize the DJ who decided that Dr. King’s speech needed to be modernized. I honestly don’t think he meant to tarnish the credibility of the speech or tone down its importance.  I think he noticed the sad realization that today it takes music, graphics, Facebook, Myspace, instant messaging, text messaging, and so on, to make us pay attention to the important things from the past and present. Even something as important as the “I Have a Dream” speech has to be played with a hip-hop soundtrack just to gain the full attention it already deserves. 

Yes, it is true that new and emerging technologies are a huge part of today’s society that can be incorporated in any parts of our lives to draw needed attention. But when Dr. King’s line, “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” is being played to the beat of a song that once carried the lyrics “yeah, we knuckin and buckin and ready to fight,” we’ve taken it too far.

It’s time for us to realize that everything in life does not need to be modernized. Some things just need to be understood, recognized, respected, and appreciated. It’s a sad realization when the only way people recognize the great work and struggles of great leaders is when they get a day off for their birthday or hear it remixed to the latest music chart topper. I’m sure Dr. King did not dream that one day his speech would reach young adults by pairing it with a hip hop song that says ‘the N word’ more than 10 times throughout its lyrics.

We’re talking about a man who was one of the key figures in the civil rights movement. We’re talking about a man who marched in streets filled with racial injustice and inequality. We’re talking about a man who often put his own life in danger so that all people, including all of us today, can live a peaceful life. We’re talking about a man who fought for someone other than himself.  We’re talking about a man who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because of his hard work and dedication. Yet, despite all of this, just recognizing him and his work as it is isn’t enough?

We are lacking appreciation more and more as the years past. So I challenge all of us – yes me included – to take time to go back, before our dependency on technology worsened, and remember the many people who built what we have today. Let’s celebrate our past and use it to help build a better future. Let’s move beyond just acknowledging holidays such as MLK day and watching the speech once or twice on You Tube before going out to the movies. Let’s teach young adults to stop limiting their attention span to something based on what fits in with pop culture.

What are the implications of this, you ask? Well, beyond the blatant lack of respect for our past, let’s take a broader look. This MLK incident is only one example of how society feels the need to decorate important issues to make more people pay attention. For example, presidential candidates with the hottest YouTube page or fancy slogans that mirror hip hop song titles attempting to attract young voters (“Vote or Die” the slogan = “Ride or Die” the hip-hop song). I fear that soon the important information being fed to us will be evaluated not by what is being presented, but rather, how it’s being presented.

So, what is our next move? Are we going to change things or continue on this path of bribing society to honor and acknowledge the important people and moments of our past and present? What’s next - candidates’ credibility being measured by how many friend requests they have on Facebook? Or better yet, the president’s State of the Union address being played to “Bootylicious” by Beyonce? The possibilities are endless.

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