MLK: More Like King

The third Monday in January traditionally has come to be known as the day we celebrate and honor the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. He was a key part of the civil rights movement and his leadership made serious gains for African Americans. Among other things, King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and led the March on Washington in 1963, where he gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He was a pastor, a dignitary, and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Before he could continue to make progress and change, he was gunned down and assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 39. It would be 18 years later that he would honored with a U.S. national holiday. Sound have come to view it as a day off from work or school or barely recognize the holiday. Not many individuals have days honoring them. Outside of mothers, fathers, and the men and women who have served and currently serve us in the Armed Forces; only presidents have received days of honor outside of King.

King began his journey in Atlanta, Georgia the son of a reverend. He would meet and marry Coretta Scott in 1953, have four children, and become a pastor in Montgomery, Alabama in 1954. King would travel in India and adopt the principles of non-violent activism utilized by Gandhi as he (Gandhi) went about looking to make social changes. That trip would strike him deeply and rev up his commitment to the need for civil rights progress.

In 1955, King was on a committee that oversaw the Birmingham African American community when a young black girl refused to give up her seat to a white man. Later that same year, the infamous incident involving Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. That would spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott led by King. The boycott would last over a year. During which King was the subject of threats, but the boycott would pay off as racial segregation on all Montgomery public buses was eliminated. Using what he studied from Gandhi, King would embark in the coming years a strategy of utilizing nonviolent actions and protest against the Jim Crow South and their laws. Through this, King was hoping that exposure and media attention would follow and allow for more and more people to see the struggles occurring for equality.

In the spring of 1963, King and others would go to Birmingham, Alabama with the objective of ending the city's segregated civil and discriminatory economic policies. This campaign would last through most of the spring with King and citizens looking to provoke police to fill their jails to point of them being overflown. Police used what one would probably view as unnecessary force against several protesters. The end result: a major police figure lost his job and Jim Crow signs came down allowing for public places to be more open to blacks. That summer would be one of the moments that stands as one of King's crowning moments. King along with several civil rights organizations embarked on a March on Washington in August. It was another step in the long journey to get national attention on the injustices in the South for African Americans. By going to the nation's capital naturally you gain extra attention that you wouldn't get in Alabama. Unfortunately, President Kennedy was worried about the rally/march getting too out of hand and looked to tone it down a notch in order to keep alive the chance for major legislation. Some leaders who were a little less patient than King were not exactly happy with these developments. Regardless, on this poignant day King gave the "I Have a Dream" speech to one of the biggest crowds in the history of the nation's capital and several injustices were aired and it would be a contribute the success of civil rights legislation in the coming years. Most of what King was striving for would come to fruition in 1964 and 1965 with the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, respectively.

In 1965, King would continue to work for progress in civil rights. Alongside a few others, King planned a march from Selma to Montgomery and the state capitol. However on that March Sunday (the 7th), they were blocked off by a mob and the police who attacked the protesters. The actions that day would become known as "Bloody Sunday". This march was supposed to be prevented after King thought it through further, but he couldn't stop it from occurring. There would be a ceremonially march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma two days later and the actual march that was planned occurred later that month and King spoke again on the need for more change. King kept fighting for civil rights progress and was a major advocate for the war on poverty. He also became a major anti-Vietnam War figure. Not surprisingly, since King was a nonviolent supporter he would not favor a war; especially one that took money and resources away from the poor and others who could use it.

King's last stop and cause would be public works employees in Memphis, Tennessee. It was there on April 4, 1968 that the civil rights advocate and man who had done so much to reverse several injustices in the South was assassinated. An autopsy later showed that King's heart was much weaker than his age; most likely for over a decade of stress.

It is nearly 42 years since King's passing, but his memory has continued. He is as important now in death if not more than when he was alive. He made possible so many progressive measures for African Americans and civil rights in general. 30 years ago various measures began to be set in motion to honor King. His boyhood home along with several other buildings nearby and around the South that King had an impact at were designated national landmarks in 1980. In 1983, President Reagan signed a bill to create a federal holiday to honor King. It would first be observed in 1986. President George H.W. Bush in 1992 proclaimed the holiday to officially be observed on the third Monday in January. Early on and even after it became an official holiday, there was opposition to giving King a national holiday. Finally after 14 years, in 2000 all 50 states celebrated the national holiday. Additionally, there is a memorial in the works to be placed on the National Mall in Washington D.C. where he can take his rightful place among presidents and other important figures in our history.

Martin Luther King, Jr was more than just an ordinary man; he was an extraordinary figure who refused to expect no or allow for injustices to continue to occur. He knew that things were not going to be easy. He knew he would become a target by several individuals and groups who were against racial equality. He knew that he might not make it a stage in his life when he would be old and gray. But he knew that if his children and grandchildren and those like them were judged based on their character and not based on the color of their skin; then he had succeed. Before King, there were few men or women like him. And even 42 years later, there are few men or women who have accomplished even half of what King did. However, it is worth noting on the day we celebrate his life and all he did; that we need more like King. He chose to act pacifically for change. He was willing to take the proper steps and still get the results. Despite the landmark legislation of the 1960s, there is still work to be done. And we must have more young men and women step up to the place like that 26 year old King did in 1955. A world with more Kings in it would not be a bad thing at all.