Representative Elijah Cummings' “The Fierce Urgency of Now”

It isn’t often that a senior US House of Representatives member finds the pulse of the modern American crisis. Elijah Cummings, Representative of Maryland’s 7th district and former Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, did just that. This past Tuesday, Representative Cummings spoke on this crisis and his optimism for change during his lecture “The Fierce Urgency of Now” as a part of the 2016 Noah Krieger '93 Memorial Lecture hosted by the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy.Just what did this 65-year-old Baltimore native have to offer to the current conversations surrounding the social, and specifically racial, climate of America? Quite a lot, it turns out. Rep. Cummings’ radiant lecture focused on a simple principle: seeing and hearing each other. Through personal anecdotes and calls to action, Cummings inspired the audience to see and lift up ourselves so that we may see and lift up others.Particularly poignant was Representative Cummings’ insight into last year’s unrest in Baltimore, which resulted from the shooting and subsequent death of Freddie Gray. Cummings painted the situation as a portrait of silenced Americans pushed too far; of Americans asking the government if it really cares about them, a question Cummings, too, asks of America. As Rep. Cummings told CNN, “I am Freddie Gray.”Cummings’ statement is not far from true; Representative Cummings noted that he grew up and still lives in Freddie Gray’s neighborhood, and also spoke on his difficult time in school being relegated to ‘special-ed’ classes. As a black man born and raised in Baltimore, he empathized with Freddie and his family, saying to reporters at Mr. Gray’s funeral “You see him today. Did you see him when he lived?” Feeling unseen and unheard, Rep. Cummings thinks, is a common anxiety and fear facing many Americans today. Cummings noted that some figures, such as Bernie Sanders, are working to address these issues while others, such as Donald Trump, prey on the anxiety of underrepresented communities, manipulating them into creating cultures of hatred. These cultures of hatred, Cummings expressed, are what will cause America to self destruct. “We no longer have the right to remain silent against anyone who wants to turn us against each other.”For this reason, he stressed to the audience and specifically young people the power of collective action. He cited his work as the two-time chairman of President Obama’s campaign in Maryland as an example, which began with Cummings as the sole member. Power, he argued, can and must begin with one person, especially when those currently in power threaten to silence and take away other's voices.Cummings implored that the audience do all it can to preserve democracy and, finally, stressed the importance of compassion. He concluded his speech by reminding the audience, “When we see each other and respect each other, there will be a greater country.” And as the auditorium rose to its feet in applause and broke out into “This Little Light of Mine,” it was clear that the inspiring Representative’s words had achieved their desired effect.Image via Naiyah Ambros '17.