In the Spotlight: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr., son, husband, and father…clergyman, activist and leader of the civil rights movement.  M.L.K., Jr. was a beacon of light through a discriminating darkness that imprisoned the world, and still does to an extent, to this day.  He still remains an influence of peace, love and equality over forty years after his untimely and unfortunate assassination in April, 1968.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.  He was the middle child, with older sister, Willie Christine King, and younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King completing the King family.  He and his father were originally named Michael King, Jr., and Sr., respectively, until a 1934 trip to Europe.  Upon returning, his father legally changed their names to Martin Luther King in honor of the famous German Protestant leader.  Martin Luther, King, Jr. grew up in Atlanta and attended Booker T. Washington High School, skipping the 9th and 12th grades and entered college at age 15 without technically finishing high school.  Then, in 1948, he graduated from Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts degree and soon thereafter, enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania.  And, in 1951, he received a Bachelor of Divinity degree.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fell in love and soon married Coretta Scott on June 18, 1953 at Coretta’s parent’s house on their lawn in Heiberger, Alabama.  Over the years, the Lord blessed them with four children, Yolanda King, Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott King and Bernice King.  Throughout these years, MLK, Jr. became pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in 1954, at the young age of 25.  A year later, he began his doctoral studies in Systematic Theology at Boston University.  He had written a dissertation titled “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman”, but it wasn’t until 1980 that it was discovered that this piece was in fact plagiarized. 

One of King’s monumental contributions came about in 1955, December 1, 1955 to be exact.  Rosa Parks was on her way home from work at Fair Department Store on Montgomery’s city busses.  She paid her fare and went to the first row of “colored” seats, as so designated by Jim Crow laws, located towards the back of the bus.  As the route continued, the “white” seats began to fill up and became full with their stop at the Empire Theater.  The “white” men that boarded the bus were to sit in the row of seats occupied by Parks and three other African-American citizens, and were asked to move one row back to accommodate the “white” passengers.   Three of the four moved one row back…except for Rosa Parks.  She refused to move, and after a heated argument, the bus driver, James Blake, called police to come and arrest her.  Parks was charged with violating Chapter 6, Section 11 of the Montgomery city segregation code.  Her arrest sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott that began on the day of her trial, December 5, 1955.  King’s leadership role in this effort was countered by protesters bombing his house as the situation grew in intensity.  The boycott lasted an astonishing 385 days until the segregation laws were rescinded. 

Another attempt on King’s life came in 1958 at a book signing promoting his book, Stride Toward Freedom when a crazed woman, Izola Curry, stabbed him in the chest with a letter opener.  King almost died from this encounter, but it did not waiver his drive for equality for all.  Getting deeper and deeper into organizing protests, delivering various public speeches and numerous other projects, the FBI, under orders from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, began tapping King’s phone lines due to Hoover’s allegations of communists in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.  When no evidence was found, the FBI used the information they gathered in an attempt force Martin Luther King, Jr. out of the Presidential seat of the SCLC.  He stood his ground and remained President up until he was assassinated. 

August 28, 1963...Washington, D.C.  The most influential and recognized civil rights organizations, otherwise known as the “Big 6”, organized the infamous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  The Big 6 was comprised of Martin Luther King, Jr., representing the SCLC, Roy Wilkins from the NAACP, Whitney Young from the National Urban League, A. Philip Randolph with the Sleeping Car Porters, John Lewis of the SNCC, and James L. Farmer from the Congress of Racial Equality; Bayard Rustin, a colleague of King’s, was in charge of logistics and strategies for the March on Washington.  Then President of the United States, John F. Kennedy was not in favor of the March because he thought that it would hinder the progression of desegregation and the advancement of the civil rights legislation and wanted King to change the motivation of the march.  King complied and changed the overall meaning behind the march to a “watered-down version” of the original plan.  Many civil rights activists were disappointed, especially Malcolm X, who dubbed the march “The Farce on Washington”.  The event wasn’t as a complete loss as many people thought.  Out of The March on Washington came one of the most magnificent speeches of all time from Dr. King with his “I Have a Dream” oratory, which still resounds over forty years later.  But, the most important result from the march was an end to racial segregation in public schools, protection of civil rights workers from police brutality, meaningful civil rights legislation, including a law prohibiting racial discrimination in employment, a $2 minimum wage for all workers; and self-government for Washington, D.C., then governed by congressional committee. 

Martin Luther King, Jr. led many more campaigns beyond the March on Washington and fought a noble fight to bring equality to a world totally out of balance. He went on to instill harmony across the country and received numerous awards and honors for his work, his oratory genius, and most of all, his humanity. Among the many, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his campaign for civil rights. Other awards include:

• 1963 ~ Voted Time Magazine's Person of the Year
• 1964 ~ Received Nobel Peace Prize
• 1965 ~ Received American Liberties Medallion presented by the American Jewish Committee
• 1965 ~ Received Pacem in Terris Award
• 1966 ~ Received the Margaret Sanger Award
• Awarded posthumously the Marcus Garrey Prize for Human Rights by Jamaica in 1968
• 1971 ~ Grammy Award for the Best Spoken Word, Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam
• 1977 ~ Presidential Medal of Freedom presented by Jimmy Carter
• 2004 ~ Martin Luther King, Jr., and his wife were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal
• More than 700 cities in the United States have streets named after King
  

On March 29, 1968, he was scheduled to fly to Memphis to speak at a rally.  As it turns out, this was to be a day that has never been forgotten and always will be memorialized by the American people.  Before takeoff, the flight was delayed because of a bomb scare on the plane.  Some time later, after all the inspections and clearance, they landed in Memphis and headed to their rooms at the Lorraine Motel.  The Reverend was booked in room 306, which was renowned as the “King-Abernathy” suite because of his frequent stays there, along with his team and dear friend Ralph Abernathy.  The speech was scheduled for April 3rd at Mason Temple to back the African-American sanitation workers who were being treated unfairly by their employers.  The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) local chapter #1733 represented the group of employees who had been on strike since March 12.  The rally went as planned and was a success.  The following evening at his motel, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot while he was standing on the balcony of his second-story room in Memphis.  He passed away shortly after surgery at 7:05 p.m., April 4, 1968.  Chaos broke loose once the news spread to the outside world with riots, conspiracies and animosity.  Rumors circled that the government was behind the assassination.  But two months after King’s death, James Earl Ray was arrested and charged with the murder.  Whether Ray actually committed the malicious act or not is still speculation. And according to a statement made by Jesse Jackson who was present at the time, James Earl Ray did not have means to organize and execute such a plan and that our government had a hand in it.  Many other half-truths and allegations floated through the media, as they do with high-profile figures.  Yet the many recognitions and acknowledgements reminded everyone of the extreme impact this man has had on all of our lives…black, white, brown, blue, purple…human.

It was proposed that there be a designated memorial day in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.  and the bill was signed on November 2, 1983.  Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was officially observed for the first time on January 20, 1986.  A few years later, President George Bush proclaimed that the federal holiday be celebrated on the third Monday of January each year around the time of King’s birthday.