Martin Luther King, Jr.
On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial day I think it is important that we take some time today and think about who he was, what he did, and most importantly why we honor him and why indeed he really is an American hero.
I was only six years old in 1963 when he wrote the "Letter from the Birmingham Jail" yet I remember seeing him on Walter Cronkite's CBS News; I am not sure I realized he was in the jail or if I thought it was another story somebody wrote. I remember clearly growing up in the south that at my house we said Negro and not the other word used a lot in the South of the '50's, '60's, and sadly even today. I remember 1963 mostly for the Kennedy assassination and the Oswald killing because it was on TV so much (the Ruby attack was almost live as I watched.) I remember 1968 for both Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy's assassinations. I remember a lot of civil unrest and riots in US cities both over racial issues and over the Vietnam war.
What particularly strikes me now looking back is how unimportant the racial side of the violence seemed to me at the time. I knew people, especially family, in Vietnam and that was very real to me but racial conflict seemed more distant from my world than the war. I was well read at an early age and had read a lot of history (my history text was "The War Between the States" not "The Civil War") and quite a bit of literature that explained more about black and white relations than my own experience ever could. I knew Martin Luther King was a very good speaker and that he stood up for Negro rights but I had no clue of the "black experience" or however I should refer to it today.
With more knowledge and an appreciation of Dr. King's speeches, writings and particularly the volatile nature of the situation in those times I see what he as a leader accomplished. I can't imagine anyone in today's news doing what he was able to do. Also looking back it is indeed remarkable that he won (deservedly so unlike Pres. Carter but I'll save that for another day.) in 1964 at the age of 35.
Much more in following posts with examples and comments on his major writing, positions, and what it means in this century.
No comments:
Post a Comment