It has been over 50 years since his passing, but his words inspire all of us today. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist clergymen, a leader, a father, and a heroic man who wanted to use love as a means to fight injustice. His gift for our people and for all human beings is that he articulated the concept of love and nonviolence in a way that inspired massive social change. Universities, parades, and everyday people honor his contributions to our society. Dr. King and so many unsung heroes (from Ella Baker to Septima Clark) sacrificed their lives to make the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act to exist in the United States of America. These monumental laws represented the courage of black people. Black people are never cowards. We fought for our rights for thousands of years. On this federal holiday, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and legacy. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia whose father was a prominent preacher. Many of his relatives were preachers too. As a child, Dr. King loved his family, played basketball, and excelled in school. He came into college when he was 15 years old. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. always possessed exceptional intelligence. He earned his doctorate later on. Focus on studying diverse philosophies (Dr. King researched the works of Niebuhr, Tillich, and Wieman), he embraced the social gospel. The social gospel is the view that Christians should both preach the gospel to save souls and use action in changing America politically. Dr. King desired the liberation of all human beings. He loved Coretta Scott King as his wife. Marrying a wife is always a blessing as the insights of woman are always sacrosanct. Many people don't know that Coretta Scott King was anti-imperialist, fought for civil rights, and was very progressive early. In fact, Coretta Scott King spoke out against the Vietnam War in public in a more courageous way before Dr. King did. Dr. King studied progressive theologians and political scholars. Also, Dr. King was always a lover of socialism as he was a democratic socialist. Dr. Martin Luther King rejected Communism for its ethical relativism, but he critiqued capitalism as losing its usefulness being not radical enough to address the needs of the poor including the oppressed.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. started his preaching heavily in Montgomery, Alabama. Soon, events would call him to do more than preaching. Rosa Parks, Claudette Clovin, and others were arrested for refusing to get on the back of the bus. Jim Crow apartheid harmed black people emotionally, physically, and psychologically. The racist power structure wanted the status quo, but black people stood up in a boycott in order for change to come. Leaders choose Dr. King to be part of the Montgomery boycott, because Dr. King was a younger man back then not bound to the black bourgeoisie establishment. In fact, Dr. King (like Malcolm X) criticized the black middle class bourgeoisie in strong terms for their compliance in the midst of tyranny. The boycott was successful, and Dr. King's house was bombed by racist terrorists. Dr. King once owned a gun to protect his house. He gave it away under the advise of Bayard Rustin. The truth is that there is nothing wrong with nonviolence or self-defense. Later, Dr. King helped to expand SCLC (or the Southern Christian Leadership Council) nationwide. The movement for civil rights is diverse. You have the more progressive faction wanting civil disobedience like SNCC and CORE ( CORE would be conservative by the late 1960's and early 1970's). You had the conservative, moderate faction that wanted to use the courts or the system itself to make equality like the NAACP and the Urban League. Then, you have those who were center-left who wanted change with nonviolence militantly shown like SCLC (Dr. King was a progressive and would be even more progressive by the 1960's). Dr. King's journey had ups and downs. He would be stabbed by a mentally deranged woman. He would be beaten by racists. He would be illegally monitored by the FBI for years. Dr. King had his imperfections. I make no excuses for his imperfections, but all humans are sinners (and via repentance and change, we can be better human beings). By the late 1950's, Dr. King gave a Civil Rights speech at Washington, D.C. The early 1960's s aw sit-ins, Freedom Rides, a new generation of activists and the rise of SNCC. Dr. King welcomed these developments.
Dr. King worked with JFK. They had a disagreement. President Kennedy wanted equality for black people to exist primarily by the courts and legislation without massive demonstrations in the streets. He said so in his speeches. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted both equality via legislation and by nonviolent resistance (even in civil disobedience). The Kennedy administration was light years ahead of Eisenhower in terms of civil rights, but even the Kennedy administration had to be pushed to be more militant by civil rights legends. Dr. King didn't have a victory in the Albany, Georgia movement of 1962, but he had more success in 1963. He worked hard to learn lessons. He worked with people more, and he fought for justice in Birmingham, Alabama. This time wasn't without tragedy. 4 little girls were killed by terrorists in the Birmingham Baptist Church. The girls just wanted to worship God in their own way. Dr. King rightfully blamed the terrorists and those who were lukewarm for their deaths. Dr. King was a leader among others in the March on Washington Movement. He gave out his eloquent dream for justice. Then, he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 at Norway. Activists among many colors inspired Congress to pass the 1964 Civil Right Act. It was a great victory in the long battle for justice. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked in many places to fight for voting rights. As early as 1964, civil rights leaders debated on what to do next. By this time, rebellions existed in cities like Philadelphia, New York City, etc. With the voting, political power can expands, so Dr. King came into Selma to fight for voting rights. The Selma Voting Rights movement had many leaders found in the Dallas County Voting League, etc. By this time, Kwame Ture worked with Dr. King as a friend and fellow activist. The Selma movement had hardships. Many people died and Bloody Sunday was when the police brutally attacked peaceful mostly black protesters in Alabama. This caused more of the country to ally with the cause of voting rights. LBJ signed the law in 1965 making the Voting Rights Act real. Then, an expansion of new black political leaders rose up across America. The Watts rebellion happened immediately after the law was passed during the summer of 1965. LBJ was confused on why it happened, but black folks knew why. For years, black people in Los Angeles were victims of racism, economic exploitation, police brutality, and other injustices. One incident with the police caused the fuel to lit the rebellion. Dr. King and others immediately came to Los Angeles to hear concerns, empathize, and show solidarity with people. He was booed there which was rare for black people to boo him. Dr. King was hurt, but he knew why. Dr. King later said that the victories found in new legislation was not enough. You need to re-order society structurally in order to comprehensively address economic inequality and racial injustice. Dr. King said that a radical redistribution of economic and political power must be made to liberate black human beings (who are victims of colonialism in America).
Dr. King in 1965 toured places to fight for change. By this time, Malcolm X was assassinated. While others slandered Malcolm X's named and lied about his views (even some black so-called nationalists lied about Malcolm X's views), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave sincere condolences to his family and friends. In fact, Dr. King and Malcolm X shook hands and were willing to work together in desiring freedom for black people. Dr. King saw Malcolm X's point that self-determination and militantly affirming one's Blackness was psychologically enriching. Malcolm X saw that international cooperation and the weakness of capitalism were clear. Both men opposed the Vietnam War. By 1966, Dr. King worked in Milwaukee, and other places. He also protested in Chicago. Chicago was complex, because Chicago didn't have legalized apartheid. Yet, racism, discrimination, police brutality, and economic oppression were found in Chicago. Chicago then and now is more segregated than some southern cities. Dr. King said that white racism in Chicago was more vicious overtly than many places in the South. In Chicago, Richard Daley and many pro-Daley black clergymen wanted Dr. King to go away. Yet, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived in an apartment in Chicago to confront housing discrimination. He wanted to end slums, to confront housing discrimination, and to change Chicago. Dr. King had a mixed result as there was an agreement, but no radical change came. Dr. King also was hit in the head by a rock. Kwame Ture promoted Black Power in 1966 at Mississippi after the shooting of James Meredith. Dr. King took a nuisance perspective about the concept of Black Power. To Kwame Ture, Black Power was about black people determining their destinies in owning their own political and economic institutions. To him, Black Power was about black independence. Dr. King believed in building black economic and political power, but he rejected separatism. Dr. King and Kwame Ture would continue to be friends despite their disagreements. At this time, the progressive side of the Black Power movement would created the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. They believed in socialism, they opposed imperialism, and they believed in confronting police brutality. By the end of 1966, Dr. King didn't spoke out a lot about the Vietnam War. Morally, he was always opposed to it, but he wanted to have favor with LBJ on civil rights issues. This would change by January 1967 when he saw napalmed children on the cover of the magazine. From that time onward, he fought against the evil Vietnam War much more strongly.
Dr. King opposed the Vietnam War because of many reasons. He opposed it on being a war that eliminated much needed resources to help the poor and black people. He believed that it was a civil war that could be solved because of negotiation instead of using napalm and using free fire zones. Dr. King viewed the war as unjust violating the Geneva Accords, the U.S. Constitution, and international law. He spoke out against the war in January and March of 1967 in Chicago. His famous Riverside speech at April 4, 1967 was his total break with the Johnson administration on the Vietnam War issue. His speech at the New York City Riverside church was accurate, eloquent, and emotional. Kwame Ture, McKissick, and other black leaders praised Dr. King for his stance. Like usual, the far right extremists and neoliberal organs from the NY Times to Time magazine criticized Dr. King as a near traitor and making a script for Radio Hanoi. Dr. King was heckled as a "Communist" for speaking out against an unjust war. Back then and today, red baiting is very common in America. Many of these red baiters don't even know about what Communism is or the nuisances of Communism (as we know about the Sino-Soviet split over different interpretations of Communism). Many Communists like Du Bois and Paul Robeson heroically fought for black liberation. In fact, Dr. King (though not a Communist) praised W.E.B. DuBois in a speech in 1968, which celebrated the centennial of his birth. Yet, Dr. King continued to speak truth to power. He stood up against capitalist exploitation and injustice. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. exposed the three great evils of racism, militarism, and materialism. He helped to make a black man to be the mayor of Cleveland. He supported Operation Breadbasket (which was supported by Dr. King's protege Jesse Jackson) which called for boycotts of companies that discrimination against black people. He also promoted the Poor People's Campaign being inspired by Mary Edelman.
The Poor People's Campaign wanted billions of dollars to eradicate poverty, build adequate, quality housing, promote living wages, and seek a real transformation of society. It was a multiracial movement made up of black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, poor white people, etc. By 1968, Dr. King even called for a boycott of the Olympics. He continued with his Poor People's Campaign, and the sanitation strike in Memphis happened in 1968. Many of his advisers didn't want him to go to Memphis, but Dr. King said that if nonviolence worked in Memphis, it can work in Washington, D.C. (when he planned to use civil disobedience in D.C. for his Poor People's Campaign by the Spring of 1968). Memphis sanitation workers protested for living wages, for equality, and for human dignity. Memphis conservative mayor Henry Loeb refuse to give the workers union recognition. He was strict. Yet, the black sanitation workers protested saying enough is enough. They wore I am a Man posters on them. Rev. James Lawson worked with them. Dr. King led a protest, but agent provocateurs used violence to end it prematurely. As we know, the FBI monitored Dr. King, and reactionary politicians falsely blamed Dr. King for the violence.
Dr.King felt depressed at times, because he was criticized heavily. He would leave meeting to talk with her friend Dorothy Cotton to relax. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. promised a 2nd Memphis march. He wanted to make sure that a nonviolent march in Memphis would exist. The snowstorm came, and he gave his final public speech at the Memphis church. It was a storm, and Dr. King was at first reluctant to give his speech. Then, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave I Have Been to Mountaintop speech on April 3, 1968. In that speech, he gave a summary of his plans and intentions. He talked about Greek philosophers, the civil rights movement, and his desire to see humanity free. Also, he wanted to make sure that he desire the Memphis sanitation strike to be successful. Not to mention, he wanted investments in black owned institutions, boycotts of racist corporations, and solidarity with the workers. He said the prophetic words that he may not get to the Promised Land with his people, but black people will get to the Promised Land. He celebrated his speech with friends and family. He wanted that injunction gone. By 6 pm. at April 4, 1968, he was assassinated by a coward. Immediately, rebellions transpired nationwide. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s funeral was attended by the rich and the poor, people of every color, the famous celebrities, the unsung civil rights heroes, and tons of other people. His death showed how far America has to go in fulfilling the Dream. With the insurrection of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, we further see how far we have to go in seeing America reach into the heights of true human justice. Vicious terrorism shown by bigoted terrorists in D.C. represent how evil the enemy of white racist terrorism is. This is not new. For centuries in America, there was the genocide of Native Americans, Red Summer, The 1866 anti-black pogrom in Memphis, and other events where white terrorist mobs harmed plus killed black people or other people of color. In other words, this is America. Today, Dr. King has inspired future generations to promote volunteerism, social activism, nonviolent resistance, protests, and other means to achieve justice for humanity. He taught us that love is never a weak anemic force. Love is a powerful force that can make real change possible.
By Timothy
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