Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. asked the question, “Where do we go from here?” His book Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community was published in 1967 and offers an essential question for meditation and movement.  It is a inquiry that requires us to look at our feet and to assess our surroundings.  In order to make progress, we must acknowledge where we are.

After the death of Laquan McDonald, I don’t know where I am or what time I am in.  The dash cam video capturing the incomprehensible death of seventeen year old Laquan McDonald, shot sixteen times by Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke, has me asking a different question, “Why do we keep ending up here?”  How did my generation end up in the same space and time as those of the Civil Rights Movement?  Where did their time and effort go?

Before protesting and public statements, we need to look at the body of Laquan McDonald.  Look at his feet and how they ended up on a cold city street.  We need to ask ourselves, “Why do we keep ending up here?”