Learning to Make Meaningful Change | Why I Joined ARCC

During my onboarding process for my internship with ARCC this past week, I continuously revisited content analyzing and commenting on Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. Several posts and podcast episodes reference King’s disappointment and understandable frustrations with the moderate white community, especially with the church and spiritual leaders that he had believed would rally beside him on his mission to promote racial justice through nonviolence and direct action. Instead, despite his incredible patience and compassion even in the face of his oppressors, he was labeled an extremist and publicly repudiated by members of the spiritual community that he had so much faith in.

In school, I was introduced to Dr. King’s philosophy in the way I believe most students who grew up in the South in the early 2000s were. I vaguely recall hearing parts from his “I Have A Dream” speech on video having a brief discussion about why being overtly racist to our classmates was wrong, and then moving on to our next assignment. This didn’t prevent racist jokes from circling around in barely hushed tones, and it didn’t stop teachers from treating my classmates differently based on the color of their skin, their accents, and their beliefs. Though King’s words resonated with me and contributed to my personal growth and transformation in how I understood the world, I didn’t know what I could do back then to make any meaningful difference.

Reading Letter from Birmingham Jail and listening to others speak about it, the impact it had on community consciousness and King directly calling out white moderates as the greater threat to social justice and democracy, has reinforced my purpose for joining ARCC. I am still learning how to most effectively use my privilege and platform to speak out against hate and promote love and understanding, and I am excited for the things I will learn by working with everyone striving to do the same.

For Peace and Love,
Ash R. Long