It is Martin Luther King Day. Artists do not get days off, especially if they are national holidays. In fact on those days we try to do double because the nature of art making is to fabricate time, resources and imagination in any free time in the required work for living. NYC is a particular city where it is easy to blend live/work. In any case MLK was so inspirational to me as a young rebel living in Texas at the height of the USA civil rights movement. He was so brilliant and brave. I could not think of a more uplifting leader. He was a rare bird who was helping others take flight. I admired the civil rights movement greatly because I felt the pain of racism. Not that it was directed at me exactly. I am a white woman, so I felt sexism more. It is just that I found it shocking every time I saw it. I was 9 when I realized that racism was immoral especially when perpetrated by the people around my Catholic family, my suburban neighborhoods, and Houston Texas in general. It was risky for me to speak out against it – being so young – my parents thankfully never voiced racist remarks or harbored ill will towards people of color we encountered. But my neighbors had guns everywhere…. my goodness, what a sight. Guns in the house, car, garage. I was shocked by how they reacted to the slightest push-back on the chronic racism. So I did what all self respecting artists do. I got lost in my own world of art and participated in the peace/civil right movements unbeknownst to my neighbors. I was determined to leave Houston ASAP.
MLK stood for freedom, equality, and right to be the best person you can. All noble goals. Goals worth affirming daily. Thank you for being inspirational.
