Lost in translation

Let’s not kid ourselves.

Not everyone thinks about America’s war dead on Memorial Day. Many of us do not spend much time contemplating liberty and freedom on Independence Day.

And more than 20 years after it was first observed as a holiday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day does not prompt a universal focus on social justice.

So how, in real life, will Inland Northwesterners observe MLK Day on Monday? Some will take part in the many observances planned throughout the region. But most have other answers.

Attitudes about the day appear to loosely break down into several semidistinct groupings.

‘We’re not black’

For some, the January holiday simply is not important.

“I don’t observe MLK Day, nor does anyone I work with – most likely because we’re not black,” said Spokane’s Ginnie Todd, a 55-year-old office manager for a food broker. “I would say that if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s a national holiday, and therefore schools and various government offices are closed – giving them one more day to goof off – it would barely be a blip on the radar here.”

Chewelah, Wash., school bus driver John May, 67, is among those who will have the day off. That, however, is pretty much the extent of his acknowledgement of the holiday. “I suppose that it might be something that some folks make a to-do about,” he said.

The charismatic civil rights leader, murdered in 1968, was controversial both during his life and after death.

“While I certainly agree that he played an essential and historical role in ending a tragic era in our country, I cannot overlook nor condone his adulterous betrayal of Mrs. King,” said R. C. “Bob” Boynton, a 69-year-old retiree in North Idaho. “For me, it is just another day with no mail.”

Ritzville’s Karen Meye, 64, noted that many great Americans have not been honored with a holiday. “Why him?” she asked.

“I personally believe Congress erred in creating the day,” said Frank Schoonover, a 73-year-old retiree in Spokane.

“My husband says he won’t celebrate it until we also have a day celebrating Native Americans,” said Cherie Warber of Sagle, Idaho, a retired flight attendant now working for an apparel business.

Mead retiree Margaret Blodgett, 84, flatly said she does not observe MLK Day. And for an assessment of the holiday’s importance in our area, she suggested asking a black person.

One thing seems clear, though. There is a difference between failing to note the occasion in a special way and being hostile to the very idea of a King holiday.

Spokane Valley accountant Jim Clanton, 57, thinks King was a great person. “But I have a dislike for giving state and federal employees and students a paid day off to commemorate a birthday or the death of an individual,” he said. “A minuscule percentage of those getting the day off take even a second to remember the reason for the holiday as they head to the mall.”

Vic Franklin, a 67-year-old retiree in Spokane, just doesn’t feel a strong personal resonance. “I am sure there are many in our area that feel a great debt to Rev. King for his contribution to the American way of life,” he said. “But as for myself, I don’t think it has impacted my life or the outcome of same.”

‘He did so much for us’

Others regard the holiday with profound respect and observe it in a variety of ways.

Karen Mobley, 45, arts director for the city of Spokane, notes MLK Day with a moment of quiet reflection. “I sit still,” she said. “I remember going to the church where Martin Luther King preached and visiting the memorial for Martin Luther King in Atlanta and the National Civil Rights Museum where King’s assassination occurred in Memphis.”

Dee Miller, who has been a mail carrier for 22 years, will fly the U.S. flag at her home Monday.

Myiesha Belarde, 25, who works at Spokane’s Martin Luther King Jr. Family Outreach Center, intends to take her two children downtown and join in the march on Monday. “Just because he did so much for us,” she said.

Spokane’s Carlos Alden, 53, a retired psychologist who is a broadcast producer, makes it a point to program his public radio show with music saluting the civil rights movement.

George Gieser III, an unemployed 57-year-old Spokane resident, said he notes MLK Day by doing random acts of kindness.

Leanne Kelly tries to heighten the holiday’s profile in her own small way. “At my current place of employment no one even notices Martin Luther King Jr. Day,” said the 38-year-old Spokane resident who works for an insurance agency. “I usually take the day off and make sure everyone knows why.”

Passing it on

For some, the focus is on teaching children.

Alexis McDuffie, a 25-year-old Transportation Security Administration employee in Spokane, used to march. Now though, with young children, she tends to stick closer to home.

“I teach my kids about everything that he did and we read stories about him,” she said. “It’s important that they know.”

One of the lessons is that MLK Day, intended to celebrate the ongoing struggle for fairness and equality, was never envisioned as a race-specific holiday.

When McDuffie’s kids are older, she intends to rejoin the march as a family.

Spokane law student Heather Elder, 31, said she will try to make sure her 7-year-old son knows why they both have the day off from school. She wants him to realize it’s not just some in-service training day.

Retired nurse Rosemary Lucas-Olsen, 62, who lives north of Sandpoint, phones her biracial grandson on MLK Day and gets to hear what new facts about the civil rights leader he has learned.

Last year, Christina Kush encouraged her kids to try to memorize King’s rousing “I Have a Dream” speech. “Our discussions have not only been about discrimination to people of color, but about injustices to homosexuals, the elderly, women and any number of other individuals who have been harassed because they dare to be different or stand apart,” said the 39-year-old Spokane registered nurse.

Maybe it’s a regional thing

More than a few Spokane-area residents responding to questions about MLK Day’s status in the Inland Northwest said the holiday tends to be overlooked and misunderstood. Why? Their theories varied.

Lori Reynolds, 42, librarian at Bonners Ferry (Idaho) High School, asked some students about the day. “They responded that it seems to be more of an African American day than a day for white Americans, even though they know it’s a day for civil rights for everyone,” she said.

Wade Griffith, a 50-year-old bank executive in Spokane, has the holiday off every year. He usually goes in to the office to try to catch up on work, though. “I have the sad impression that it’s still viewed by many here as a racial minority event,” he said.

Tim Osborn, 37, a Washington State University employee in Pullman, gets Monday off. He has doubts, however, about how closely many in our area connect with the day. “Because Eastern Washington is so white, I don’t think that many of our residents understand just how bad things were in the Jim Crow South,” he said. “So, in turn, they don’t understand how important (King) was to so many people.”

Gina Emory agreed. “I don’t think many people really stop to think about the significance of the day or even MLK’s contributions to our society,” said the 51-year-old technology manager at the Sandpoint library.

For some, timing is an issue.

Coeur d’Alene’s Gabriele Grover, the 46-year-old co-owner of a drywall company, respects what King stood for and accomplished. But one more Monday holiday this close to Christmas and New Year’s? “It’s too soon to close up shop for another three-day weekend,” she said. “In our business, there are schedules that have to be met.”

Dana Freeborn, a 55-year-old Spokane homemaker, admires King but thinks the fact that she did not grow up with any MLK Day traditions might contribute to the fact she doesn’t recognize the occasion in any special way.

Others suspect cold weather might play a role, too.

Mike Almond, a 53-year-old software architect in Spokane, wonders if local celebration of the holiday is hampered by seasonal considerations. He guesses there might be greater enthusiasm for MLK-related outdoor events and gatherings if they were held in warmer weather.

Spokane’s Chris Pollock, a 55-year-old church deacon, believes the event is not more prominent here because of an understanding gap between this city’s white majority and the African American community. She would like to see local churches do more to bridge that gulf.

John Huffstutter usually spends the long weekend ski-patrolling. The 45-year-old budgeting director in Cheney used to live in the Washington, D.C., area. He recalls that MLK Day was a much bigger deal there – “Because of the more diverse population.”

He’s not alone in thinking that awareness lags locally. Diana Churchill, a 55-year-old academic administrator at Whitworth College, suspects the day is higher profile in her hometown, Philadelphia: “Where most people are a bit more aware of African American history.”

Still, some who have no beef with the holiday remain skeptical about its ability to move people.

Retired flight attendant/small- business employee Pam Waddell might spend Monday putting away Christmas stuff. “It is a day off and a looked-forward-to breather,” said the 61-year-old Spokane resident. “Do I think it has any impact on this region? Absolutely none.”

Perhaps it is the case everywhere. In the Spokane area, though, connection to the holiday might be characterized as hit-and-miss.

Robert Stevens, a 41-year-old administrator at Group Health, works on MLK Day so a colleague can be home with her children. “When I take phone calls on that day and inform callers that ‘That department is closed for the holiday,’ I usually get the reply, ‘What holiday?’ “

Diane Fisher, a 39-year-old student and mom from Newport, Wash., says school projects sometimes prompt discussion at home. Still, her honest assessment is that MLK Day is not very important to many in her neck of the woods.

Janelle Baker, 52, who works for an insurance company in Spokane, wondered if the holiday will have achieved full-fledged recognition when we start seeing “Martin Luther King sales.”

Graduate student Katie Delderfield, 24, has seized the day by regarding it as an invitation to explore African American literature. Still, she believes that our regional demographics – which she characterized as “white, white, white” – work against MLK Day’s stature hereabouts.

‘I observe it in my heart’

Of course, local attitudes about this particular national holiday can’t be divided into simple pro or con camps. In the end, perspectives are as diverse as our populace.

“I don’t observe the holiday, but am glad it exists,” said Karyn Christner, a 55-year-old Spokane resident who works in the hospitality industry.

Greg Jones, a 54-year-old farmer near Colfax, said he observes MLK Day by going skiing. “Judging from the number of school-sponsored ski trips on that day, I think that must be the main effect of Martin Luther King Day,” he said.

Coeur d’Alene massage therapist Cathy Kraus, 52, does not celebrate the holiday in any formal way. “But I do think about him and try to watch any programs on the observance, just to remember his words and his message,” she said.

LuAnn Suryan has to work on the holiday. “So I observe it in my heart,” said the 50-year-old animal shelter employee who lives outside Spokane.

Steve Haynes, 53, a planner for the city of Spokane, usually doesn’t do anything special with his extra day off. “However, I can say that about the majority of holidays,” he said.

“I do not observe it, but I do respect it and understand the meaning for the holiday,” said Beverley Novin, 50, who works in the newsroom at a Spokane TV station.

For Spokane’s Stephanie Forsman, the 42-year-old coordinator of a local hospital’s cardiac intensive care unit, the holiday always reminds her of the “I Have a Dream” speech.

“And I stop and remember,” she said.

Carolyn Wright, 49, has the day off but she doesn’t march or meet. “I, personally, do not participate in any celebration,” said the Spokane manager. “I wish I did … just not motivated enough to get off my duff.”

“My employer does not include MLK Jr. Day on the list of paid holidays,” said Marlys Buzby, a 51-year-old human resources manager who lives near Newman Lake. “I observe it in a personal way, by watching whatever PBS programs are shown on him and by reading about various local observances in your paper. Each year, I learn a little more.”

Spokane social worker Carol Dikes, 45, said figuring out the appropriate way to acknowledge this stop on the calendar can be a puzzle. She added, however, that the need for reminders about equality have not faded away since the civil rights leader was slain. “Racism continues to be an issue and many see color as an indication of a criminal personality,” she said.

Of course, the manner in which an individual relates to Monday’s holiday can evolve over the years.

Consider the case of Bill Brock, editorial adviser to The Daily Evergreen at Washington State University.

“Before I had kids, I usually took advantage of having the day off by going backcountry skiing,” he wrote. “And during the course of the day, whether driving or actually slogging around in the woods, I spent some time reflecting on the life, and times, and murder of America’s analog to Gandhi.

“Now that I’m irretrievably ensnared in ‘the full catastrophe’ (to use Zorba the Greek’s term), I generally spend a few minutes thinking about MLK whilst mopping up baby vomit.”

Chances are, King would understand. He was a father. And he knew something about children.

All of God’s children.