Nekima Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis civil rights attorney and activist, engaged in a lively discussion about social justice and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy for the Law School’s eighth annual MLK Convocation on January 19. 

Garry W. Jenkins, dean and William S. Pattee Professor of Law, introduced the hour-long program, “A View from the Mountaintop: Reflections on Social Justice in Today’s World,” structured as conversation between Armstrong and Ra’Shya Ghee ’13, assistant dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Armstrong and Ghee did not pull punches about how Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s message has been diluted and distorted over the years. 

“People see King today as a widely beloved figure,” said Armstrong. “But often we’re given an inaccurate version of Dr. King. We have to deconstruct his words and not sell ourselves short by accepting a shadow of the truth.” 

Armstrong referred to the changes that have taken place in the 55 years since King’s death as “crumbs” when measured against the sweeping changes that still need to happen in American society to achieve racial justice. 

“His legacy has a way of suggesting that the heavy lifting has been done,” said Ghee in describing current perceptions of King and his work. 

Armstrong pointed to mainstream society responses to protests related to the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, George Floyd, and others as examples of how much work there still is to do, and even how things may have regressed.

“People didn’t think the fighting and organizing were necessary in Dr. King’s time, and a lot of people now feel the same way,” Armstrong observed. “People have a habit of taking in incidents of racial injustice like they’re reading a novel instead of trying to imagine what it’s really like to live through those things.” 

Understanding King’s Message 

Armstrong also noted lack of progress on other issues, such as affordable housing and a guaranteed livable wage. 

“These are things that, in the 2020s, we are still talking about,” she said. “And not just in southern states — right here in Minneapolis. We owe [King] a debt that’s more than taking out a day to celebrate an anemic version of his life, but actually doing the work that he said was necessary to bring about a more equitable society.” 

Armstrong said one issue is the relative passivity of white moderates when it comes to speaking out and acting on racial issues. While it’s easy to condemn the Ku Klux Klan and overt incidents of brutality by police, the concern often tends to stop there, she added. 

“We’re frozen in time when it comes to the real conversation,” Armstrong said. “We’re comfortable knowing that one day a year, if we go to a breakfast or work on a service project, that’s enough. When it comes to practicing law, too often these issues are segregated to civil rights law. We have a mandate to do this work.” 

A more recent hurdle is the ongoing backlash against and distortions about Critical Race Theory, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the general idea of being “woke,” which some leaders and public figures have turned into a pejorative term, Armstrong said. 

“Some of the legislation we’re seeing doesn’t even permit us to talk about race even as we had been, which wasn’t even sufficient,” Armstrong observed. 

Where We Go from Here 

The last book King wrote before his death was Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? Armstrong and Ghee agreed that his question is nowhere near being answered, and our institutions – including our educational systems – are to blame. Armstrong argued that, more than ever, concerned people have to transcend what they might be told in school. 

“Much of what we’re taught is by design,” said Armstrong. “We have to resolve to become truth tellers, and that involves vulnerability, because there’s going to be resistance. Most people don’t want to pay the price. 

“This isn’t about who’s a good person and who’s a bad person,” she added. “That has nothing to do with policies and decisions. As long as the majority feels comfortable, they end up thinking that’s peace. It’s not.”