Aung San Suu Kyi is making Canadian history. One of only six foreigners ever granted honorary citizenship, the Myanmar leader is the first to have that honour stripped away, because of her government's persecution of its Rohingya minority.
The dethroning of one-time heroes is trending. Historical icons 鈥� city founders, international statesmen, even former prime ministers 鈥� are having their legacies negatively re-examined.
This historical rethinking works both ways. Today鈥檚 pariahs are sometimes tomorrow鈥檚 heroes; history requires a long lens, especially when evaluating social justice. Our challenge is remembering that perspective when looking at social movements in the present, from Black Lives Matter and #MeToo to March for Our Lives and Idle No More.
Take Martin Luther King, who had some unpopular ideas, such as his opposition to the Vietnam War. In 1966, two years before his assassination, a Gallup poll found that 63 per cent of Americans held negative opinions of King. Fifty years later, he鈥檚 practically an American saint, remembered almost exclusively for his 鈥淚 have a dream鈥� speech.
Rev. Jesse Jackson wrote in the New York Times that King was an unapologetic radical who is beloved by America, not as a marcher, but as a martyr. King鈥檚 evolution from outcast to social-justice titan proves that we can鈥檛 always see the trajectory of a movement while we鈥檙e in it.
It鈥檚 tempting to think we would all have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with King at the Lincoln Memorial, or joined the Freedom Riders on buses bound for the still-segregated U.S. south. Maybe you鈥檙e now wrestling with whether to join the next Women鈥檚 March.
Looking back, most Americans didn鈥檛 support the protests for civil rights and thought King鈥檚 efforts did more harm than good. Closer to home, the majority of Canadians were opposed to the women鈥檚 suffrage movement in its early years. Few people stood publicly against the horrors of residential schools.
鈥淭hings we take for granted 鈥� the end of segregation, same-sex marriage, women鈥檚 ability to vote 鈥� were once considered radical ideas,鈥� says Peter Dreier, professor of politics at Occidental College in California.
Today, King is universally embraced, and the Famous Five are viewed as Canadian social-justice heroes. Reconciliation is a national priority.
Let鈥檚 keep those things in mind when today鈥檚 movements are being criticized. When protesters are said to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. When sexual-assault survivors are accused of using the court of public opinion.
We鈥檝e long drawn inspiration from King鈥檚 life and use his example of service to inspire others to give back.
Admittedly, we鈥檝e not always thought about how time has changed his image. It鈥檚 our collective challenge to see him 鈥� and all those who鈥檝e advanced causes before him 鈥攔eflected not just in our history books, but in those championing the same ideas today.
King was accused of going too far, demanding too much, too soon. The same criticism is often leveled at activists today.
But if we learn from the past, giving groups today space to build their movement and society time to follow along, how will we feel about them in 50 years?
It鈥檚 too late to go back and march with King. It鈥檚 not too late to join a movement today.
Craig and Marc Kielburger are the co-founders of the WE movement, which includes WE Charity ME to WE Social Enterprise and WE Day. For more dispatches from WE, check out WE Stories.