“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it

 as he who helps perpetrate it”

               --Martin Luther King Jr.

                  (1929-1968)

               In a Stride Towards Freedom

           In 1964, in New York City, a young woman named Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death when she returned home at three o’clock in the morning.  It took about thirty minutes for the vulnerable women to be stabbed to death at the doorsteps of her apartment building, but Kitty was not alone. On the contrary, there were at the least, 38 people in her apartment building that night who heard her scream. Some could even see the murder-taking place outside from their overlooking windows.              They even saw her murderer stab her repeatedly, run away, and then dare return to stab her again. None of her neighbors did anything to help.  No one even bothered to phone the police from the security of their own apartments.      

             The Kitty Genovese case is one of the more referenced examples of the bystander effect, which is when people witness a crisis but do nothing to help.  This, one of the more disturbing findings in social psychology, has been a incessant plague of society.  Martin Luther King Jr. understood that. Instead of being just a man holding a strong opinion, he made an effort to change the flaws he saw in one of America’s most dire times.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is an exemplary model for those who recognize the need for change and even those you have yet realize it.  

 King fought relentlessly against the bridge the gaps between African Americans and their counterparts through much passionate campaigning and sacrifice.  His dedication and involvement, including the participation of countless others, is what made the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s so powerful.  Martin Luther King Jr. fought for the cause till the evening he was assassinated, on April 4^th, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee.  Imagine if the same output was put forth by the current America, to further connect the diverse communities of present day.  It is not enough to talk about what should be done or what could be done, one must actually do something and contribute to the process, like getting involved in organizations such as the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) and BRIDGES.

            Dr. Martin Luther King also understood the essential concept of progression; this is to understand that important thing is to continue to make progress which means that you can never give up hope.  At times bumps in the road may cause frustration, because of those who work against you in your plight, but with hope you can conquer those frustrations.  “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope,” by saying this King was reminding the people not to give hope. Giving up hope is the enemy of progression. With an optimistic outlook you will be able to consider the multiple pathways to your goal as well as be flexible and persistent.  

            Another way that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. should be modeled after in working to connect and growing and diverse communities is by his way about doing those things.  He said, “Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”  You can not expect for things to get better with out understanding that if you are trying to change the existing system you must work with the system, in order to be more effective, as well as more permanent.  Getting involved with the local and federal governments is another example that should be followed when succeeding to your objective. “It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important.” I agree with what King said, and believe that what he said is one of the most imperative notions to be aware of.    

            I personally have discovered that we must make a lesson of history, those who have come before us, and the world around us.  The tribulations that we are facing to day are not exclusive to our generation, but are prevalent in the patterns of a delicate and intricate past. If you are adamant in your position and insistent in changing things for the better your progress has no limit.  Through education, strength, and determination a difference can be made.  Bridging the gaps between Arab-Americans and our fellow Americans is a personal goal that I have of my own, and as a young Arab-American I have learned from the examples of Martin Luther King Jr, and the prior civil rights movement, to help achieve that goal.  Martin Luther King has said, “We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers,” and in turn I have to ask myself ‘why not?”

By Zubayda Labib