Black Lives Matter – Demo: Speech by Laura Issing

I assume you all know the speech by Martin Luther King. At least the most famous part of it, in which he repeatedly begins with: "I have a dream". 

I don't need to quote this part either, it should hopefully be ringing in all your heads by now. 

But I would still like to quote some of his other statements. (Don't worry, you don't have to understand them all, some are translated in essence, some word for word.) 

"Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. (…) The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges." 

No, 1963 was not an end, but a beginning. The whirlwinds of revolution will continue to shake the foundation of all nations until the bright day of justice emerges. 

1963. Almost 60 years later and we are virtually back at exactly the same place. And yes, I know the history of racism goes back much further, but when I decided to speak here today, it was immediately clear to me that I wanted to quote Martin Luther King. But I wasn't sure how difficult that would be.  

Not because his speech is hard to understand, because it's in English or because I couldn't find the right quotes from his decades-old words, but because I couldn't find any inappropriate quotes. I could have stood here and read his speech word for word. 

The only thing I would have had to do was replace 1963 with 2020. You don't have to do much more than that to have a current speech on the subject of racism. And that, friends, must not be! 

I think I speak for everyone here when I say: racism is like a badly extinguished campfire.  

On the surface, it was hastily "extinguished" many, many years ago, but every little spark is enough to reignite it.  

And don't misunderstand me, George Floyd was not this little spark.  

The murder of George Floyd is the accelerant that was poured into the fire that has long been burning again.  

The flames have continued to grow over years and have now reached a size where we are dealing with a forest fire. 

A forest fire larger than the one in Australia at the beginning of the year. A forest fire that, if we do not act now and actively extinguish it together, can and will destroy the whole world. A forest fire that affects not only our dark-skinned fellow citizens, but all of us. 

A forest fire that we can no longer ignore! 

"We can never be satisfied as long as the black person is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality." 

1963. 

No, we cannot be satisfied as long as black people are victims of indescribably horrific police brutality. 2020 and nothing has changed about this statement.

"Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksand's of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood." 

1963. 

2020 and nothing has changed about this statement, except that not only 

America must be lifted from the quicksand of racial injustice onto the rock of 

brotherhood, but that every nation must stand with both feet firmly on the ground of justice for all people.  

And yes, "All Lives Matter", but to achieve that, we must focus on "Black Lives Matter", because as long as that is a statement that seems to be up for debate, we don't need to discuss "All Lives Matter". Nobody is demanding "Black Lives Matter more", we're really only demanding "Black Lives Matter, too" and the fact that that's not yet a given is the reason why we're all standing here. And yes, I can understand the anger burning in the people who are currently setting America on fire for it. Nevertheless, I am proud that we are here today peacefully raising our torches against racism. Because even in 1963, it was exactly what Martin Luther King demanded of people in the fight against racism:

"In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force." 

So let us not try to quench our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must again and again confront physical violence with the power of the soul. 

Because fire cannot be fought with fire. Violence begets counter-violence, not a solution. We need water, and lots of it. We need a huge stream of water, a huge stream of people. Only if we all work together against every hotbed of racism can we extinguish the fire. And for this stream of people, we must all without exception stand for the Black Lives Matter movement and against racism. Whether black, whether white or all the skin colours that exist on this planet. Because even in 1963, Martin Luther King said: 

"Recent events must not lead to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone." 

1963. They cannot walk alone. 

2020. They cannot walk alone. And they don't have to. 

All of us who are here today have set a good and important sign against 

racism, but we must not stop now. 

Or do you think a bit of posting here and one or two demonstrations there will change the world within two weeks? 

No! We must keep going, we must continue. We must tackle this deadly, racist virus with the same seriousness as the other deadly virus we are currently fighting all over the world. 

We are not only demanding justice for George Floyd.  

We are not only demanding an end to police violence against Black people in America. 

We are not only demanding equal rights for African Americans. We demand justice and equal rights for ALL our dark-skinned fellow human beings in America, in Germany, throughout the entire world. 

Because Harper Lee also said, even before Martin Luther King, in "To Kill a Mockingbird": 

 "I think there is just one kind of folks. Folks." 

And that must be the goal of this movement. That must be the goal of all of us. 

Because we should all think and ensure that there is only one kind of people: people.

Laura Issing