Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, who spoke at Monday's MLK prayer breakfast, invokes the community to put the past in its proper perspective and remember King’s legacy by creating new ones. (Photo: Glenn Burkins for Qcitymetro.com)
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Are African Americans so caught up in the past that they forget the present?

Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie posed that question Monday to hundreds who gathered at the Westin Charlotte for the 18th annual MLK Jr. Prayer Breakfast. The event was hosted by the McCrorey YMCA.

McKenzie, the 117th consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the first woman to obtain that level in the more than 200-year history of the A.M.E. Church, said she was asked a similar question by a colleague who implied that African Americans are too caught up in the past.

“The young preacher said, ‘That’s the problem with you people. The past means more to you than today… and tomorrow is never on the agenda,’” McKenzie recalled.

“Perhaps, he is right,” she said.

Still, McKenzie said she believes the past is important because, without it, there is no legacy, no heritage and no direction for the future. The key, she said, is to put the past in its proper perspective.

“We must learn the value of history – not to live in it, but to learn from it,” she said. “Every event was a training ground for the road ahead. All of our yesterdays were preparation for today.”

McKenzie said the words of King and his calls to global fellowship, unity and unconditional love still ring true.

“Yesterday it was a fight against racial segregation,” she said. “Today, it is a fight against economic segregation. One in three of our neighbors in this country is living in extreme poverty… The middle class is dwindling. Children are being raised in misery. Seniors are forced to choose between medicine and meals.”

All the while, she said, the top 1 percent in the United States controls more wealth than the bottom 40 percent.

McKenzie said it is the forgotten past that “enslaves” us because past struggles often resurface.

“History tells us that old enemies return in new ways,” she said. “Every new day brings a new devil.”

She said today’s generation may find itself fighting again for many of the gains they take for granted – things such as the right to vote or the privilege of having equal opportunities for education.

The problem, she said, is that too many have succumbed to today’s “age of me.”

“The climate of the contemporary community with its nation-wide slogan is ‘It’s all about me,’ ” she said. “With recent trends – modern methods, technological savvy, digital Twitterverse, Facebookian texting, anti-traditional literature – we have forgotten the great moments of the past and ignored the lives of witnesses who peak over the balcony of heaven wondering when we are going to get our act together.”

McKenzie challenged her audience to build a legacy of their own.

“It is difficult sometimes to reach all of the goals in one generation,” she said. “Each generation must build on the foundation that is left by the others… Maybe somebody will take what you did and build upon it and make it a little bit better.”

McKenzie knows about legacies. Her grandmother was one of 22 founding members of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and McKenzie herself serves as national chaplain of the sorority.

McKenzie was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve on the President’s Advisory Council of the White House Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

She can be heard daily at www.thisisyourwakeupcallonline.com. Daily prayers are available at www.vashtimckenzie.blogspot.com. She can be reached at www.13thame.com.

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