A Thoughtful MLK Day To You
Tulsa’s yearly MLK commermoration march and candlelight service were last night. The Tulsa World was kind enough to provide this picture and video (pretty darn well produced, if you ask me).
For those who have gone before, they have drastically cut the service down from the marathon 4 hour ordeal it used to me to a merciful hour and a half, dramatically improving the experience (although my daughter still pooped out around 45 minutes in).
The young man reciting the speech, BerThaddaeus Bailey, won the privilege of delivering it in a citywide oratory contest. I watch this every year, and the winners are always very impressive young people. However, what really impressed me this year was not necessarily young BerThaddaeus, but his family and friends who produced him.
I don’t want to tell tales on BerThaddaeus, but he did stumble at the beginning. He isn’t the first person I’ve seen in that position at the pulpit of one of the largest sanctuaries in Tulsa, filled with people looking at him expectantly, who momentarily forgot the next line in the speech. What I hadn’t seen before was how his large group of family and friends encouraged him, buoyed him up, and once he got going, lit him back on fire. As I sat there watching, it occurred to me that with support like that, BerThaddaueus quite literally could not fail. They just wouldn’t let him.
The theme of the night was mentoring. The recipient of the Keeping the Dream Alive award was given it for her efforts in mentoring (including a young Jabbar Shumate, now Tulsa’s HD 73 rep). However, it was demonstrated live for us right there by the Bailey clan and friends. I’m sure this won’t be the last time BerThaddaeus stumbles in life, but with a support system like that, I don’t think we have to worry about him.
Any human falls down every now and then. It is also natural for someone young to lay there on the ground thinking, “perhaps this is where I was meant to be”. What truly matters is having someone there to pick them back up, brush them off, and encourage them on their way. It is very important that we apply this principle to our young people.
It is perhaps just as important that we Democrats apply it to our young politicians. In a state like Oklahoma, our young up-and-coming Democrats are going to have more than their share of stumbles and falls. It is the job of all of us to help pick them back up, brush of the dust, encourage them, and once they get going, help light them back on fire.
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