Keep going Redmond: Beyond White Privilege

Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on January 16th offers each American a reminder to grow their discrimination skills. He famously stated, "I look to the day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." People need to make judgments about where to invest their time, efforts, and money, but experience has shown America that great human beings come in many shades. When Muhammad Ali passed this year it gave America another chance to consider what did the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) teach his followers? As explained in Amir Hussain's book Muslims and the Making of America, in 1967 Muhammad Ali took the unpopular position of conscientious objector saying, “War is against the teachings of the Holy Koran. I’m not trying to dodge the draft.” And in reference to his experience with racism he said, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong—no Viet Cong ever called me Ni**er.”

History records that during the farewell sermon of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, he stated, "A white has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action." Great social progress was made with this teaching in the Arabian Peninsula 14 centuries ago. Here in America we have made some progress in dismantling racial prejudice but in 2017 we still need to make a lot of progress in this regard. Each person can self-assess themselves regarding racist ideas, remarks, and behavior as well as their feelings of entitlement and snap judgments.