We Must Use Time Creatively

It's interesting to read and hear Dr. King's letters and speeches through the lens of creativity. Creativity is referenced often and it's part of his message to imagine and then make real The Beloved Community.

Another passage from this same Letter from Birmingham Jail that touches on the need for creativity in the Civil Rights movement:

But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label...so the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?...Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.

That last phrase--creative extremist--lands deeply for me. As a extremist for love and the extension of justice, this quote and phrase also makes me think of part of the Reverie + Felicity Studio Manifesto:

I think we can also share our creative energies and resources to make this world a better place for all. This is possible when we acknowledge the original Indigenous stewards of the lands we live on and support justice efforts for all humans and creatures to thrive together.

Indeed, the time for the end of racial injustice and white supremacy is--and always has been--now.

Remembering today Dr. King's exhortations to think and act creatively to help end the systems of oppression that dehumanize us all in different ways.