When talking about revolutionary love, Alexander draws from the words and insights of Martin Luther King Jr.
Writes Alexander:
King was right back then. And he’s still right. He’s just as right today as he was fifty years ago about the corrupting forces of capitalism, militarism, and racism and how they lead inexorably toward war. He was right that, if machines and computers and property rights and profits are considered more important than people, we are doomed. . . . Above all, he was right about what is required of us now: to speak and to act with unprecedented courage and with love. To oppose all forms of hate and racism, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. To oppose any policy and any economic system that places profit over people. And to reject militarism and state violence as the answer to our most profound, seemingly intractable conflicts and struggles. If we are to honor the principles and values for which King sacrificed his life, we must demand a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the occupation of Palestine. We must speak unpopular truths and organize to save our planet, rebirth our democracy, and embrace human creativity and the natural beauty of our world rather than artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
When interviewed earlier today on Democracy Now!, Alexander was asked about what gives her hope in these troubled times. Following is part of what she said.
What gives me hope right now is that, despite everything, revolutionary love is bursting and blossoming in all kinds of places and spaces. Years of relentless and patient organizing and deep learning about each other’s histories and struggles have led to a moment when Black activists are showing up at protests organized by Jewish students who are raising their voices in solidarity with Palestinians who are suffering occupation and annihilation in Gaza. And, you know, this is due to connections that have been made over the course of years between liberation struggles on the streets of Ferguson and those occurring in Palestine. And these small acts of revolutionary love are leading to movements, are building movements that just might help us change everything.
And, you know, we see this in communities everywhere, where people are connecting dots between climate change and racial and gender injustice. We see it in the movement to stop Cop City in Atlanta. We see it in movements for clean water and food. And we see that people are making connections between liberation struggles here at home and those occurring around the world, as well as connections between the violence of policing and incarceration and the violence of militarism and the relentless assault on Gaza.
So, you know, people are turning towards really promising forms of movement building, incredible acts of courage in this moment, speaking unpopular truths. And that gives me hope, even in a time when there is so much reason for fear and anxiety, that can be paralyzing.
. . . [W]hat makes King’s [1967 Riverside Church] speech essential in this moment is that he was arguing that if we, as a nation, do not awaken from our collective delusions, we are doomed. . . . [H]e said we must rapidly shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. He said when machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplet of racism, extreme materialism and militarism will never be conquered. . . . [I]f we fail to make this turn, if we fail to awaken, we are doomed. And he was right.
Whether we’re talking about climate change, AI, mass deportation, mass incarceration, the wars in Gaza or the wars on drugs, [King was] right, that if we don’t turn away from the corrupting forces of capitalism, militarism and racism, and embrace a truly revolutionary love for all people and all creation, we are doomed.
Towards the end of that speech at Riverside, he said there is such a thing as being too late. You know, he said over the bleached bones and jumbled residue of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words “too late.”
And yet his message wasn’t a hopeless one. He was calling us to embrace a revolutionary movement, one that was grounded in an ethic of love. Just as bell hooks once said, as long as we refuse to embrace love in our struggles for liberation, we will not be able to create a culture of conversion where there’s a mass turning away from an ethic of domination. And that, ultimately, is what revolutionary love is all about and why I believe it is the only thing that can save us now.
– Michelle Alexander
Excerpted from “‘Revolutionary Love’: Michelle Alexander on Gaza,
Solidarity, MLK and What Gives Her Hope”
Democracy Now!
March 13, 2024
Excerpted from “‘Revolutionary Love’: Michelle Alexander on Gaza,
Solidarity, MLK and What Gives Her Hope”
Democracy Now!
March 13, 2024
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• When We Choose to Love
• Susan Raffo: Quote of the Day – September 11, 2012
• Marianne Williamson: “We Must Challenge the Entire System”
Image: Michelle Alexander. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/WireImage)
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