Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was proclaimed a federal holiday in 1986 in recognition of Dr. King’s immeasurable accomplishments in the area of civil rights. Among his most notable achievements were the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-1956, the March on Washington in 1963, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Along with Ralph Abernathy, James Lowery, and Fred Shuttlesworth, King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957.
And who can forget his iconic Letter from Birmingham Jail or his immortal “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial?
Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in 1977, and the Congressional Gold Medal, also posthumously in 2004, along with his widow, Coretta Scott King.
I revere Dr. King for what he said, what he wrote, and most of all, for what he stood and fought for. He was not a perfect man by any means, as his well-documented moral failures have since revealed. But the full measure of the man is what counts, which is why I made a pilgrimage to Memphis in 2018 to visit the National Civil Rights Museum and to pay my respects on the 50th anniversary of his tragic assassination.
It is also why I am writing this article: to remind us all of the things Dr. King lived and died for as well as the things that are an offense to his name.
Dr. King gave his life so that…
- Race, which is merely an accident of birth, would not be used to judge a person’s character or to limit their future. King also believed that the color of one’s skin should not put them at a disadvantage nor give them an advantage over others.
- We could live as one people – E Pluribus Unum, out of many one – and not as a segregated nation.
- Every American, regardless of race, creed, or color, would have the same opportunities in life. What we do with those opportunities will depend on the true content of our character… and determine how far we go.
- Black Americans could have access to every school and institution of higher learning to gain a good education to better themselves and their families.
- Every American citizen of age could have unimpeded access to the voting booth… and to run for public office themselves if they so desired.
Dr. King did NOT give his life so that…
- Colleges could offer segregated dorms or conduct segregated graduation ceremonies.
- Rap artists could objectivize and denigrate women.
- Black men could speak in Ebonics or refer to each other using the N-word.
- Teens could wear their pants below their butts (Dr. King was a sharp dresser!)
- Black men, who represent 6% of the general population, could commit 63% of all violent crimes in America.
- Black women, who comprise 6% of the general population, could account for 37% of all abortions… wiping out an estimated 25 million black babies in the process.
- 90% of black murder victims could be killed by black perpetrators.
- Protests against prejudice and racial discrimination could devolve into looting businesses, destroying public and private property, setting cars on fire, and burning down police stations. After all, Dr. King practiced and promoted nonviolent civil disobedience.
I could go on and on, adding to each list, but I think you get the idea.
The best way to honor Dr. King’s legacy is to look behind a person’s outward appearance and to look into their heart instead.
