Mel King
On Sunday, October 20, 2013, several of us from BBDP attended Mel King’s 85th birthday celebration and fundraiser for the South End Technology Center. As we listen to stories from the busing/desegregation era, Mel King’s name is one that comes up often as one who struggled (and struggles) across differences for justice for all.
At the celebration, Mel shared many themes that relate to the stories we are hearing in story circles and interviews. He also shared his mantra, “Love is the question and the answer”. In BBDP, whether we’re hearing rage or pain, hope or confidence in the stories, we’re hearing questions of love and how we love. Questions of how we include each other and maintain our sense of place, history and identity. And we’re coming to understand that real solutions will only come out of love. And not the syrupy kind of love but the kind Dr. King talked about is his famous quote:
Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.
Over the summer as we were interviewing those directly involved in the busing/desegregation transition, Tufts University intern and BPS graduate Fabrice Montissol interviewed social justice activist and writer Mel King. Th result was a cross-generational conversation between two Black men. We will work on the sound quality but hope you hear in it– as we did –many of the complexities of race and class equity, democratic access and demands for excellence BBDP seeks to better understand.
- Fabrice Montissol
Truth, Learning, and Change 