Quito (Prensa Latina) A song by Nina Simone became an anthem for those who fought for the rights of people of African descent, and even more so for those who fought for the civil rights of all. A song that shaped the lives of so many people and especially Martin Luther King himself.
Kintto Lucas**, Prensa Latina contributor
The song is called Mississippi Damn and has been sung at many marches across the United States. Nina Simone left the United States in 1969 after Luther King’s assassination, tired of the persecution and racism against African Americans.
The path of Martin Luther King marked the path of the black population of America’s struggle for civil rights. His steps towards freedom and rights marked the path of a people who are still forgotten.
Today’s impunity is a consequence of yesterday’s impunity. Today’s civil rights struggles are part of the web of struggles built up over decades. Today’s marches and the feet in the march are part of those marches that demanded justice.
“Today I have a dream. I dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the children of former slaves and the children of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood. I dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state seething in the heat of injustice and oppression, will become an oasis of freedom and justice. “I dream that my four children will one day live in a country where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the characteristics of their personality,” said Martin Luther King.
These words are still a dream. Selma is a film that tells part of this dream. “What happens when a man stands up and says enough is enough?” says the film. We might ask ourselves: What happens when a people stands up and says enough is enough?
Every ending can be a beginning. Selma is a way to restart that dream. In any case, every time we return we start over. Now we could do it from Colombia, where paths to peace continue to be sought…
rmh/kt
*from his book My Trip to Ithaca
**Ecuadorian-Uruguayan journalist, writer and politician (from Select Signatures)