Disability and “Drum Major Instinct”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said in his February 1968 “Drum Major Instinct” sermon in Memphis:

"Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness."

Dr. King made clear that if he was to be remembered as a leader at all (“if you want to say...”), he wanted no credit. He instead wanted to walk beside and along with others toward these noblest of goals. He was a humble man who lived and died for justice and peace and righteousness. Two months after that speech, in April of 1968, Dr. King was assassinated.

Dr. King also reminded us:

“Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.”

And:

“A right delayed is a right denied.”

Fast forward to 2012. Many of the injustices Dr. King exposed still exist, but the world is a better place. It has been made better by the humble, creative, dedicated minorities who continue to march forward for justice, peace and righteousness.

Of those in the disability rights movement, including those at CCDC, Julie Reiskin calls them our “foot soldiers.” That’s what they are; that’s who we are. Despite what we have been called by others. Despite what people think of what we do. They are wrong.

Dr. King understood this better than anybody. He understood speaking truth to power. He understood we must stand up in the face of a world telling us: “You are not permitted to be who everyone else is. You are not permitted to do what everyone else does. You are not allowed to be a person.” Dr. King spoke it, and he spoke it with humility.

CCDC’s accomplishments speak for themselves, but they happened because of our foot soldiers. Let me tell you about the people who CCDC represents, and the people who are CCDC:

We are people who don’t do it for the money. We are people who don’t do it for the glory. We are people who don’t do it for the fame. We are some folks who just want to make stuff better for people with disabilities. We represent (and some CCDC members are) the people who passed the laws that made the country understand that people with disabilities have civil rights. We are the people who are trying to get that job done twenty and thirty years after our civil rights laws have been passed, because a right delayed truly is a right denied.

Although today, a day when most of the nation celebrates Dr. King and his legacy, a bit of Dr. King’s message may have gotten a little distorted, the Drum Major Instinct about which Dr. King spoke aptly describes our foot soldiers to whom we owe so much.

Dr. King and his fellow marchers endured beatings for their views. Many of our brothers and sisters have done the same thing. Dr. King went to jail for his views. Many of our brothers and sisters have done the same thing. Now, over twenty years after the passage of the ADA, and forty-four years after the death of Dr. King, we should also remember our foot soldiers. The world is a better place because of their creativeness, dedication and humility.