We, as Americans, have celebrated another Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Our protestations were eloquent and our programs were grand as we remembered King.
America now has a new president with the transition of power done with great pomp and circumstance. On the heels of this occasion came a march also in Washington celebrating women. The cause and timeliness of the march should not be lost on us. During his campaign, the new president disrespected women in every possible way.
King said, “That unless we learn to live together as brothers and sisters, we will die apart as fools.” It is my opinion that this lesson will be put to the test in the coming years.
Being a peacemaker is much better than being a troublemaker. Many of us are asking whether we will have peace or trouble in the White House. During King’s time, many people saw the civil rights movement as a struggle between Black people and White people. It is naïve to think that race did not play a part in it.
I suspect when you ask your neighbor about this time in history, they will automatically think in racial terms. Yet, I think that the lack of respect and intolerance we had for each other also played a role. King stated, “I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.”
King had more than his share of critics. Many thought he was an extremist. There was a segment of the population that believed his methodology was too mild, that nonviolence would simply not work. As I have read more about his life, he believed in man’s humanity and goodness. He believed there was good at the center of everyone’s core. Some would opine that this notion is on trial today.
His nonviolent approach to reconciliation was recognized by the world when he won the Nobel Peace Prize. He was a product of the South, having been born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta. He experienced the evils of injustice and denial based upon his race. Yet, King read and studied Gandhi and other scholars and decided nonviolence was the road to take.
