By James D. Pearce, Jr.
In a letter from the Birmingham jail in Alabama, on April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.”
We are in the 21st century and before us is the urgency to repent for ‘the appalling silence of the good people.’ If Dr. King returned today, after being absent from us for more than 50 years, he would still be disappointed because he would find that ‘the people of ill will have used time more effectively than have the people of good will.’ In his letter from the Birmingham jail these are concerns he would still find unresolved as follows: the ‘birthright of freedom’ for African Americans. Why African Americans found it difficult to ‘wait’ for justice to be a reality. The church forfeiting ‘the loyalty of millions and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning.’ The ‘constitutional and God-given rights’ of African Americans. Racial injustice and the inhumane treatment of African Americans by White people. African Americans in a state of ‘poverty in the midst of an affluent society.’
The Good People Are Still Silent
The people of good will, believe in God,
The good people protest, charade, masquerade, and parade,
Expecting things to change so they can do well,
But continue to experience hell.
The enemies of ill will,
Who deceive, rob, steal, and kill,
Take extravagant vacations and chill in castles protected by palisades,
While the good people pay the price for the shady deals they have made.
The people of good will parade before the world on Sun day,
The preachers promote ‘wait,’ hold on to your faith they say, that we will overcome someday.
Why not today? We were born to lead,
Why do people of good will continue to pray, beg, and plead?
The people of good will go to church, pay tithes and offerings, jump and shout,
But our neighborhoods continue to go without.
In the hood, heard loudly is the gospel of hope from the ministers of faith and the Pope,
African Americans are addicted to false hope; the drug dealers prosper from the sales of dope.
It is time for African Americans to move from what we believe,
To learning to know and acting so we can better achieve.
When will the good people stop waiting for a savior, and become co-workers with God,
And set the African captives free with God’s rod?
(c) 2021 James D. Pearce, Jr.
To learn more about the complacent state of African Americans and what we can do for improvement and advancement, get your copies of the Audiobooks: The Secrets of Darkness and A Recipe For Your Success. Go to: https://awesound.com/SmileeglowLLC
James D. Pearce, Jr.
Self-published author and poet
Last updated on September 7, 2021