FORTY years ago, America watched the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I find it amazing that there are so many who proclaim to be ‘black leaders’ in the country, and yet, there was not one word of acknowledgement of Dr. Martin Luther King’s life, his accomplishments, or his assassination forty years ago.

It seems that these ‘black leaders’ are one-sided in their approach to addressing African issues. The life and death of this great character, a universal hero and household name in both black and non-black homes, shaped, in a significant way, the course of history, and paved the way of a better, brighter and more productive future for Africans of all nationalities, not only African-Americans.

It cannot be overstated that after so much has been accomplished for race relations laws around the world, and for African rights in particular, the neglect to acknowledge Dr. King’s death anniversary, is an insult to everything that he stood for, and everything that Africans were able to accomplish because of his cause and struggle.

Nevertheless, it seems that these leaders, who distinguish themselves as champions of the African cause in Guyana, only employ race as a means of elevation to the top of Guyana’s politics. In Guyana, these ‘race card’ politicians only employ the ’race card’ as a means of division to secure votes through this false solidarity of Africans vs. Indians, and vice versa.

Their use of the ‘race card’ may go unnoticed by some, but disregarding Dr. King’s death anniversary provides clear insight into their actual frame of thought. Guyanese must be aware of those ‘black leaders’ who seek to divide this nation.