As I drove through the streets of Mobile, Alabama the message of Dr. Martin Luther King and Imam Malcolm X resonated with me. In Alabama, Dr King lived and marched, his words and message lived here, and in remembering him and Imam Malcolm my heart was soothed.

We need to be reminded of the great messages of Dr. King and Imam Malcolm. In the wake of turmoil and loss of life in Gaza in the last year and now mass raids on undocumented immigrants in the states, we have much to be concerned about. I recognize more than ever that what happens around the world and in our country impacts us all. Sometimes the impact is subtle, much like the small raindrops that fall before a storm, and sometimes it's as if waves crash quickly and suddenly before we come to realize the impact we are swept away.

However, when the impact and change surface many react differently and many do not at all. I truly believe we have issues in our societies as many turn a blind eye and say and do nothing. There is a divide in our society if a person or people do not share our skin color, our religion, our culture, or our country of origin we don't seek to understand their suffering or work to alleviate it. The deep frustration I feel when it comes to seeing the lack of care is summed up by brother Mustafa Davis's statement "I don't know how to explain to you that you should care about other people".

Gaza

Dr King and Imam Malcolm cared about what happened to all people. They didn't sit and do nothing. It took an entire year of the carnage of a land and people, for President Trump to dig deep and see into his humanity and say enough is enough and call a cease-fire.

For an entire year, Gaza weighed heavy on my heart. The loss of so many lives. When the death toll began to climb mostly children and women, there was nothing to do but pray. When the man who said about his granddaughter "She was the soul of my soul" was killed, there was nothing to do but pray. When starvation, poverty, and widespread disease spread we continued to pray. These people truly only had God and no one else. Now, cease-fire has come, much too late but yet what a relief. What will become of those left behind and of the land still in ruins and inhabitable? The marked isolation of a people stripped of everything material and necessary is encapsulated in a viral video of a young man, standing in a high-rise desolate building with no windows or walls and calling the call of prayer while looking over a city of only rubles. Truly these people only have God and much was their strength and relationship with Him, as Imam Malcolm said " The only salvation and escape is through God and with God".

The Undocumented

And now they have come for the undocumented in our communities. I do not seek to argue the legality issue of this matter. The humanity of it, the healthcare worker in me recognizes the impact of stress, fear, and uncertainty on people and I worry for them. As a healthcare worker, I was privileged and honored to work with many undocumented immigrant families from many parts of the world, but mostly from Mexico, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and many of the countries that are now being targeted for mass raids by ICE. This unfolding movement in our communities impacts me. These people have become part of my community as I have sat and held newborn beautiful brown babies in my arms on their first visit right from the hospital and have thought about their futures.

I have sat with the parents of babies who grew from the newborn stage and months after and walked parents through their first illness, and stress over teething, and reassured them through struggles when they have had sleepless nights.

I have looked and seen the strength of these people. From the callousness of the hands of these people who, much like my immigrant father, held many jobs to make ends meet, to their inner strength and beauty. Like you and me, they work tirelessly day and night to put food on the table, educate their children, and serve and be a part of the community.

To know that their families are hurting and afraid of deportation hurts me and saddens me, as these families have become as much a part of my life as I have been of theirs.

To know that parents are afraid to take their kids into spaces such as clinics, hospitals, and schools—spaces they once considered safe saddens me.

To know that parents are worried about taking their children to school worries me. As an immigrant, I come from a people who have sought education as a way out of hardship and into a better life, and to think that could be taken away from a people upsets me greatly.

Much like you and me, they have a home here, they have built something for themselves here, and to try to take it away from them overnight is something that requires pause and thoughtfulness rather than a swift undertaking such as the new immigration policy.

Words of Upliftment

What would Dr. Martin and Imam Malcolm say about how we have cared for our society and our neighbors here? What would the man who said "An injustice anywhere is a threat everywhere" say about how we view and focus on all issues of people everywhere, regardless of their color, religion, culture, or country of origin? What would the man who said "You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom" say about how much we advocate for freedom and peace for people everywhere? What would the man who marched to Salem say about us and what issues we back and support with our money and resources? What would the man who said "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy" say about our inability at times as a collective to stay silent in the face of challenges in our communities?

More than knowing what they would say, I desire a world where many care about the impact of policies and many truly live by the words of Dr. King and Imam Malcolm in caring for everyone in our society and the world and working to make positive changes that impact our future generations to come.

Notes:

  1. Jehadabushamala & Muslim. Call to prayer in Gaza. Instagram. Post January 29th, 2025 Via @jehadabushamala & @muslim https://www.instagram.com/jehadabushamala/reel/DFAMWaON28I/
  2. Haley, Alex (1965). The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Malcolm X's (Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz)