In the Fall of 1989, Janet Jackson released her hit single, Rhythm Nation.  I loved that song not just for the amazing beat but for the poignant lyrics.  It was a crazy year that started ever so sweetly with my favorite team the San Francisco 49ers winning Super Bowl XXIII over the Cincinnati Bengals 20-16 thanks to a last minute touchdown pass from Joe Montana to John Taylor.  That year, change was everywhere.  The USSR pulled out of Afghanistan.  George Bush, Senior became President of the United States.  The Berlin Wall fell and the East German government collapsed.  The first black governor in the United States was elected.  Janet’s ballad was the right song at the right time because barriers were being broken down.  Recent times in the USA sparked in my mind we need a Rhythm Nation revival now more than ever.  To my Rhythm Nation brothers and sisters, hear my call!

Back then, being a proud member of the Rhythm Nation was more than just busting a move (in case you didn’t get the reference, the hit MC Hammer song “Bust a Move” was also released in 1989).  If you listened closely to the lyrics, you heard Janet’s song meant breaking the color lines.  It meant working together to improve our way of life.  It meant joining forces in protest to social injustice.  It takes courage to come forth and look for a better way of life.  These words were not unlike those of Martin Luther King, Jr., who’s National Holiday, some of us in the United States are enjoying today.  Upon reflection, not everyone feels this way.  People of the Rhythm Nation unite!  Lend a hand to help your brother do his best.  Things are getting worse.  We have to make them better.  It’s time for all of us to give a damn, not just for the MLK, Jr holiday, but for the very ideals of peace and equality.

Are Janet’s words any less relevant today as they were in 1989?  Or in 1968?  Or even way back in 1619 when the first African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia.  One of my favorite Martin Luther King, Jr. quotes is, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  It is time to speak out not in hatred but in love.  Love for your fellow human being.  Let’s break the color lines.  There is strength in numbers.

All lives matter.  All.  Another favorite quote, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”  I don’t believe we’ve reached MLK’s vision or Janet’s.  Let us all love each other and base our irresistible urge to judge on the actions of others and not on the color of their skin.

There is love in all of us.  I know it.  I’m so tired of reading about another person of color harassed or even killed by a white person’s hands.  We need to break this pattern of fear and hate and live in peace and harmony and love.  Can we do this?  I believe I can because I am a part of the Rhythm Nation.   Who is with me?

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.  – Martin Luther King, Jr.