Yahoo Finance Stevie Wonder asks Biden for 'Truth Commission' to address inequality in open letter to MLK
Stevie Wonder announced Monday he is calling on President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration to launch a “Truth Commission” to examine racial injustice.
In what he called “An Open Letter to Dr. King” – released on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a tradition Wonder helped establish – the iconic music star said he is “physically sick” over the “lack of progress” made since the holiday was formalized in the 1980s.
He went on to call upon Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris “to launch a formal, government investigation to establish the truth of inequality” in his letter, which he also recited in a video. “This truth will validate the history and this commission will recommend reconciliations.”
The tone of Monday’s letter is in line with Wonder’s increasingly forceful messaging of recent months. In speeches and videos during 2020, the 70-year-old star called for reparations for Black Americans and a reckoning by modern America with its slave past.
“It is time for all to take the only stand. We cannot be afraid to confront a lie and a liar,” he said Monday. “Those in leadership who won’t or don’t acknowledge the truth should be held accountable.”
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Wonder is a longtime Democratic supporter who has often had the ear of politicians, frequently called upon for White House concerts, inauguration performances and other key events.
He appeared Nov. 1 with then-candidate Biden and former President Barack Obama at a Detroit campaign rally, where he performed a pair of new songs and reiterated his push for reparations.
Alongside the late U.S. Rep. John Conyers, Wonder was a key force in the campaign to designate the third Monday in January as a federal holiday honoring King. The law was enacted in 1983, three years after Wonder released the song “Happy Birthday” in support of the movement.
He has continued to celebrate the late civil rights leader through the years, including a 2018 video commemoration that enlisted more than 70 celebrities and dignitaries – from the Obamas to Paul McCartney – to recite their own “I have a dream” hopes.
In his letter Monday, he recalled first meeting King in the 1960s, a moment he credits with shaping his art.
“I’ve been blessed to write songs of love, hope and motivation; many of them inspired by your life,” Wonder wrote. “I want you to know that I am thankful how you influenced my place of love."
Read Stevie Wonder's 'Open Letter to Dr. King':
Dear Dr. King,
I met you when I was 14 years of age. You were a true hero and you became an inspiration. I’ve been blessed to write songs of love, hope and motivation; many of them inspired by your life. More than any award that I have ever received, I want you to know that I am thankful how you influenced my place of love, which allowed me to try to push the needle of love and equality forward.
It is painful to know that needle has not moved one iota. For 36 years, we’ve had a national holiday honoring your birthday and principles; yet you would not believe the lack of progress. It makes me physically sick.
I am sick that politicians trying to find an easy solution to a 400 year problem.
I am sick of some people using God for a convenience rather than a commitment. I am sick of lies and deceit that dominate our reality.
I am sick that truth is struggling to be heard and defended.
Posted by Stevie Wonder on Monday, January 18, 2021
What we say has not been what we do and this country must reconcile our words and deeds.
Until we turn our mouth movement into righteous action, we are doing our nation, God and your memory an injustice.
Until what we say is what we do, there is no truth. It is just repeating and rewriting history, just as we have for the last 400 years.
We must define the truth and the facts that support them and declare them absolute. Those who promote lies and false truths must be held accountable. It is the only way we can move forward.
It is time to formally seek the truth and formally declare facts. We need a Truth Commission that forces this country to look at its lies. I am calling on President Biden and Vice President Harris to launch a formal, government investigation to establish the truth of inequality in this country. This truth will validate the history and this commission will recommend reconciliations.
Without truth we cannot have accountability. Without accountability we cannot have forgiveness. Without forgiveness, we cannot heal.
It is time for all to take the only stand. We cannot be afraid to confront a lie and a liar. Those in leadership who won’t or don’t acknowledge the truth should be held accountable.
Dr. King, these times require courage, as they did when you lived and paid the ultimate price.
On this day, a day in your honor, I pledge to have the courage to say what I see and acknowledge what I hear. In your spirit, I call on all those in the Senate to speak truth to what they know they can physically see and begin the steps of accountability, forgiveness and then healing.
With a heavy heart and a hopeful spirit, Dr. King, I am Stevie
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MLK Day: Stevie Wonder asks Biden for 'Truth Commission' on inequality
