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Representative Keith Ellison spoke on campus last Friday about Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy and the current political situation.

First Muslim U.S. Congressman says civil rights movement not over despite election

By: Kyle Meredith

Posted: 2/5/09

The first Muslim elected to the US Congress told a capacity crowd at the Lily Reid Holt Memorial Chapel that while President Barack Obama's election is a major step forward in American race relations, he would not say that the work of the civil rights movement was over.

Representative Keith Ellison, a Democrat who represents Minnesota's Fifth District, who was a few minutes late due to a flight delay, was the final speaker in the College's series of Martin Luther King, Jr. events. Ellison was introduced by Senior Associate Dean of Students and Director of Intercultural Relations Rob Flot and Gorter Professor of Sociology and Anthropology and Director of the Islamic World Studies Program Ahmad Sadri, both Muslims themselves. The program, "From King to Barack Hussein Obama," touched on both King's life as well as the current political and racial situation.

"This is a critical and historical marker," said Ellison of Obama's election to the Presidency. "It would have been impossible to imagine from the standpoint of someone in 1959 that we would have a president of African descent in fifty years."

"We are not post-racial yet," he said. "But we are making the words of the Declaration of Independence come true." Ellison also made clear that he believes Americans have made exceptional progress in the area of race relations, saying that, "few civilizations can claim such a rapid social advancement in such a short period of time."

Though race relations were an important component of Martin Luther King's program of Civil Rights, Ellison focused most of his speech on some of King's lesser known messages, especially those regarding income disparity and access to education and healthcare. "Let us remember everything that Martin Luther King said, not just about a society of racial equality, but of economic justice," he said.

"We have a vast disparity in education, and in who has healthcare and who does not," said the congressman. "If you look at something like the death rate from cancer, you'll see who gets good care and who does not. If you look at prison populations, you'll see that African-Americans are 13% of our national population, but 50% of our jail population."

According to Ellison, King believed that the issues of economics and race were often related, and the problems of race could not be resolved without an economic solution as well. "The income question has not been answered," said Ellison, "and income disparity has grown in recent time. If we don't address it, we will never meet the great promise of our nation."

In discussing King's belief that greater income sharing was necessary, Ellison pointed out that a CEO in 1957 could expect to earn about 42 times what an average worker at the same company made, while today a CEO in a similar position could expect to 383 times the wages of an average worker. Ellison likened this to a "fracturing of the social contract."

"In 1957, a third of Americans belonged to a labor union, and another third earned union-level wages. In 1957, one person could feed a family of four," said Ellison.

The Congressman's view on income disparity has been reinforced by his time on the Congress's Financial Service Committee, where he recently heard testimony from the Big 3 automakers during bailout talks. He was particularly struck when he learned that GM's CEO took home $21 million last year, while Ford's CEO took home $15 million, despite the dire financial straits in which the companies have found themselves.

Ellison also highlighted King's commitment to peace and his opposition to the war in Vietnam. "Martin Luther King had an ethic regarding peace. It was never tactical- it was ethical," he said.

Martin Luther King officially spoke out against the Vietnam War for the first time on April 4th, 1967. Ellison believed that the dissent was consistent with King's patriotism, and said that King "wanted to call [America] back to its better self."

"King would never condone lashing out at an opponent just because they had it coming," said Ellison.

Ellison concluded with his contention that King's campaign was always focused. "King was ultimately a pragmatist," he said. "He was always driving toward something. His marches were always in support of a specific goal." He referenced King's marches in support of the Civil Rights Acts of 1960, 1964, and 1965 as proof of this.

The Congressman took questions from the audience at the conclusion of his talk, answering students, faculty, and townspeople. The questions were wide-ranging, running the gamut from his support of the TARP bailout to the current situation in the Gaza Strip.

Perhaps Ellison's most impassioned answers were in response to the Gaza Strip crisis. Ellison believes that both sides must let go of trying to assign blame and commit themselves to a workable solution.

"Fault and blame are for someone else to decide," said Ellison. "Our job is to find a new way forward."

Ellison believes that both sides are equally responsible for the continuation of violence. "Israel and Palestine are in a cycle of mutual retaliation," he said. "It never stops. America needs to be for a resolution."

Tying it back to King's legacy, Ellison said that, "Martin Luther King would never condone America sitting on the sidelines." He also said that King would condemn the cycle of violence. "King would never condone lashing out at an oppressor just because they had it coming to them," he said.

Speaking further about foreign policy, Ellison made the prediction that America will have to open up dialogue with nations and groups that have had a historically contentious relationship with the United States.

"We will have to talk to the Taliban within another six months," he said. "We will have to allow them into Afghanistan's government. We cannot afford another failure like our anti-Baathist policy in Iraq."

Ellison was first elected to the United States Congress in 2006, and was reelected in 2008 with a landslide 70% of the vote. His district includes portions of downtown Minneapolis, as well as surrounding suburbs like Richfield and Crystal; the population is nearly three-quarters white.

In addition to being the nation's first Muslim Congressperson, Ellison is Minnesota's first African-American Congressperson.