Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2019.

Now, we witness ninety years after the birth of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We live in a new world since 1968 (there are old and new movements growing in favor of human liberation), but the same goal of justice, freedom, and equality remain. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia to two great parents. His father was a well known preacher in the Atlanta area who fought for civil rights. His mother was a very kind, religious woman who believed in justice as well. Dr. King was very intelligent. He played sports, he was involved in his local church whose name was the Ebeneezer Baptist Church, and he was an excellent orator. His mother explained to him how racism was evil and we must do our part to advance righteousness in society. He graduated from high school and came into college at the age of 15 years old. Later, he earned his Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate degrees at various universities in the North. Dr. King married Coretta Scott King. Coretta was just as much a social activist as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Coretta Scott King promoted nuclear disarmament, civil rights, and peace long before the 1960's. Dr. King and Coretta at first lived at Montgomery, Alabama. He was a pastor of a church. While this was going on, the Montgomery Bus Boycott existed. Claudine Clovin and Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of the bus. Also, Rosa Parks didn't just boycott. She was a member of the NAACP, Rosa Parks supported Malcolm X, she opposed apartheid, and she was a real activist throughout her entire life.

Now, the Montgomery Bus Boycott was headed by black men and black women who were tired of oppression. They fought and won the fight to integrate buses in Montgomery and ultimately nationwide. Dr. King gave inspirational speeches to carry onward with the fight for human justice. Then, Dr. King and his family moved into Atlanta. They had many children and fought for civil rights. By 1961, SNCC would exist to promote grassroots organizing. Ella Baker was the major mentor to SNCC leaders. Also, Dr. King talked with President John F. Kennedy and at times criticized him for not going far enough on racial issues. JFK later gave his June 1963 address to the American people to advocate for racial equality as a moral issues and promoted a civil rights bill in Congress. Dr. King had setback in the Albany movement of 1962, but gave the great "I Have a Dream" speech tribute to humanity at Washington, D.C. on August of 1963. Dr. King envisioned his Dream as being judged solely by the content of his character not by the color of his skin. He gave a similar speech before in Detroit. The March on Washington was created by a diversity of people. After that speech, Medgar Evers was assassinated and four innocent black girls were murdered at a Birmingham church. These girls just wanted to worship God. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rightfully blamed the racists and those who sat on the sidelines on the issue of civil rights for the bombing deaths of four little girls. In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize and saw the signing of the historic 1964 Civil Rights Act (which was one of the most progressive, greatest legislation in history). After the 1965 Voting Rights Act was signed into law, Watts had a rebellion in Los Angeles during the summer of 1965. The Watts rebellion opened Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eyes about how far the nation had to go in eliminating racial and economic oppression. Watts exploded because of the years of racism, economic exploitation, and police brutality in the Los Angeles community. A traffic stop evolved into a rebellion. Dr. King was booed by many black people at a Watts community meeting. That was rare back then, but Dr. King knew that he couldn't take this personally, because black people were reacting to the pain and hurt they have experienced by the oligarchy. They exposed how futile naivete is when black people still suffer bad social conditions. So, Dr. King wanted solutions involving understanding and activism to realize that Northern and Western black people deserve freedom and justice too just like anyone else. Dr. King realized that it's fine to eliminate Jim Crow apartheid, but you also need to fight poverty (in making sure that human beings have economic rights to achieve their own sense of happiness). He fought for voting rights in Selma, Alabama and witnessed the start of he modern Black Power Movement in 1966 (after Kwame Ture gave a speech in Mississippi advocating for Black Power). Black Power ultimately was about self-defense, self-determination in the black community, and independence in building up black institutions. There were conservative and progressive factions of the Black Power Movement too.

While moderate civil rights leaders like Roy Wilkins condemned Black Power, Dr. King said that Black Power was a call for respect and he agreed with the positives of Black Power while rejecting separatism. Dr. King worked in Chicago in 1966 too to advocate for housing rights and an end to discrimination in the Chicago area. Chicago was different than the South since Chicago had laws banning segregation, but Chicago had unwritten rules still promoted housing discrimination based upon race. Marches existed and Mayor Daley was hesitant for any revolutionary solution. White racists in the thousands in the Chicago area utilized violence against peaceful protesters. In Chicago, Dr. King was hit with the rock in 1966. Dr. King had an agreement with mixed results. While this was going on, Dr. King already opposed the Vietnam War in principle, but didn't go public in it in a very forceful way. That would change by January of 1967. By January of 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a clear cut opposition to the Vietnam War and wanted American withdrawal of troops from the Vietnamese peninsula. He said so in his famous April 4th, 1967 Vietnam war speech at Riverside Church in Manhattan, New York City. He exposed the war as a crime against people and stripping resources from the poor in America to benefit oligarchy. He was praised and criticized for his words.

The mainstream media, the corporate leaders, the moderate civil rights leaders, and reactionary anti-Communist extremists all criticized Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his courageous anti-war stance. Still, Dr. King persistently defended the truth. Dr. Martin Luther King traveled the world to spread his message of social justice plus nonviolence. He also promoted the Poor People's Campaign in late December of 1967. He was inspired by Marian Edlelman who exposed the poverty of the Deep South. The Poor People's Campaign wanted the poor of every color to go to Washington, D.C. to demand billions of dollars from the federal government to advance housing, jobs, infrastructure, and other tools to end poverty in the United States of America. LBJ and others opposed this plan especially his planned march to Washington, D.C. by the Spring of 1968. In early 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. supported the Memphis sanitation workers' strike that wanted union rights and economic justice.

These sanitation workers suffered low wages, racism, discrimination, and disrespect from employers. The reactionary Memphis mayor Loeb refused to give union recognition to the black sanitation workers. Dr. King helped to spread inspiration among the Memphis community along with other people. Dr. King saw a initial peaceful march turn violent by provocateurs and FBI-funded agents. Later, Dr. King promoted to have another peaceful march in Memphis. He had an injunction and he refused to adhere to it. While sleeping in Memphis, Ralph Abernathy called him from the Lorraine Hotel to go into a church to give a speech. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came into the church in the midst of a storm. His "I Have Been to the Mountaintop" speech was another excellent speech. It called for a boycott, an end to the injunction, economic power, and other solutions. He mixed history, philosophy, and other themes in a poetic fashion. He said that he may not see the Promised Land, but black people will reach into the Promised Land. After the speech, he felt relief and hope that the Memphis sanitation workers strike would be victorious. By April 4, 1968, he was assassinated at 6 pm. He was only 39 years old. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral was historic. Many of the same ones who hated Dr. King's views, gave condolences ironically. Afterwards, Dr. King's memory has been honored by protests, volunteerism, social justice efforts, and other actions that build up communities. Dr. Martin Luther king Jr. was a revolutionary black man. He criticized capitalism, opposed the death penalty, made known the inequalities in the health care system, and praised democratic socialism. Coretta Scott King worked for justice too until her passing as well. Dr. King and Coretta's children also worked hard in the social justice tradition too. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a compassionate hero who believed in great principles. Yes, we still believe in the Dream in 2019.

By Timothy