MLK Would Want the Cycle of Hate to End

Neil Foote, President & Founder, Foote CommunicationsRight about now, as the world celebrates Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, the world is on edge.  President Trump has maligned citizens of Haitians and African countries. In Hawaii, residents panicked in fear for 38-minutes when an alarm about a missile attack was a false alarm.  The president’s statements, which he has denied, are a harsh rebuke of all the great work done by King, so many other presidents, ambassadors and secretaries of states who strived to take the higher ground. We really need King’s words and voice – or someone like it – to ease the anxiety and celebrate the greatness of difference in this world today. Here’s one of King’s many quotes that is so appropriate for our times:Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.No one wants to “be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.” Some would say that the countries to which Trump is referring are in their current situation due to policies implemented by the U.S. and other western countries. In this global world in which we live, we need voices of sanity, calm and logic. We need strategic minds to remind everyone that most companies in the world today are interconnected to a world where customers are not just within the borders of the United States. Companies have partners and suppliers distributed across the world. Why? It’s basic to keep overall operations costs lower and to minimize labor costs. Many companies in the service and construction industry hire immigrants from many countries that might fall into the category of countries whose economies are struggling, and educational systems undeveloped.  If this nation’s strategy is to restrict these people from living in this country or deporting them, are we not fulfilling the prophecy described in King’s quote of hate begetting hate? Just think if we had adopted this policy some 20 years ago.  We probably would have not seen the country’s first Somalian-born legislator in Minnesota – Ilhan Omar.  We would have never got to know Dumarsais Siméus, CEO of Simeus Foods International, Inc., a Dallas company that is the largest minority-owned business in the state and whose customers include Denny’s T.G.I. Friday’s and Burger King. Or how about Su Sanni, the Nigerian-American who grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. who is CEO and co-founder of WeDidIt, a software firm that helps nonprofits raise money and find donors.CEOs from these countries responded to Trump’s reportedly hateful remarks. "It's very disappointing that the president would make such a comment about people from specific nations like Haiti," Herby Duverné whose company, Windwalker Group (formerly Taino Consulting), provides cybersecurity services for government agencies, as well as commercial clients. Joe Duran told Inc. magazine, "The remarks show a lack of respect for what made this country [America]. Immigrants are net contributors to our [U.S.] growth and evolution as a country, and color--or where you come from--should not be a filter." Duran, grew up in Zimbabwe, founded the wealth management firm United Capital in Newport Beach, California, a company that manages more than $20 billion in assets.The cycle of hate must stop. MLK would have wanted it that way. MLK – and all those who walked with him to hold up the ideal of this country and quite frankly, the world deserve better. [author]About the Author:  Neil Foote, a veteran journalist and media executive, is a media and political junky, keeping abreast of the latest trends impacting the business of journalism, media, politics and public relations. He draws from his experience at the Miami Herald, Washington Post, Belo Corporation and Tom Joyner’s Reach Media. He also teaches digital and social media for journalists, media management and business journalism at the University of North Texas’ Frank W. & Sue Mayborn School of Journalism and runs Foote Communications, a media consulting firm. The native of Brooklyn, NY also president of the board for the National Black Public Relations Society and founder of PoliticsInColor.com. [/author]