America recognizes February as Black History Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the lives of great black leaders, inventors, pioneers, and liberators of our past. These men and women have spread ideas, sparked revolutions, and shaped our world.
Martin Luther King Jr. is one of these great men. A paragon of tolerance, a champion of nonviolence, and a tireless supporter of civil rights, King’s relentless crusades for peace and equality transformed his times and still affect our lives today.
Martin Luther King, Jr: Early Life and Education
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. In 1948 he graduated from Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology; in 1951, he graduated from Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania.
On June 18, 1953 King married Coretta Scott; then in 1955, he received his Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Boston University.
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
King fought for civil rights throughout his life, and is remembered as the most famous leader of the civil rights movement. One of King’s first projects was helping lead the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, which began when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man.
For over a year, the black community of Montgomery, Alabama carpooled, bicycled, walked, or even hitchhiked to boycott the buses. Lasting for 382 days, this non-violent protest led to a Supreme Court decision declaring the Alabama bus segregation illegal.
Nonviolence and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
In 1957, King helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which organized black churches so they could work together on nonviolent protests for civil rights reform.
Although some blacks criticized the organization's nonviolent philosophies, King, who modeled his principles after Mahatma Gandi’s nonviolent civil disobedience, understood that nonviolent protests would spark the media attention necessary to create interest for their causes.
In the next years, King conducted several marches to fight for desegregation, blacks’ labor rights, enfranchisement for blacks, and other civil rights. His methods proved effective; television and newspaper coverage brought the Civil Rights Movement to the forefront of America in the 1960s, creating the awareness that was necessary to bring about change.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 included many of the rights for which King and his people protested; also in 1964, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Martin Luther King Jr.: Enduring Violence
Although King championed nonviolence, throughout his life he endured hatred, anger, and danger. His house was bombed during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and he was arrested at one point in the boycott.
In marches in Chicago, King faced hurled bottles, screaming crowds, and death threats. Since 1961, King and the SCLC had been tracked by the FBI. However, King had the resilience and determination to face these oppositions.
“If a man hasn’t discovered anything he will die for, he isn’t fit to live,” he declared in a 1963 Detroit speech; and indeed, King died for his own cause, assassinated in Memphis on April 4th, 1968.
Martin Luther King Jr’s Legacy
But Martin Luther King Jr. did not die with a bullet from James Earl Ray’s gun; like a true leader, King lived on through his people, and lives on today.
And while he is no longer alive, King’s words and principles are still relevant to today’s society, where hate, war, and inequality flourish. Facing a world of oppression and intolerance, King lived with tolerance, love, and peace; inspired hope in the midst of utter chaos and hopelessness; and motivated thousands of people to stand up for their rights.
As every day we live in a world immeasurably better becasue of the life of Martin Luther King Jr., we should celebrate his life and work towards the peace and equality for which he fought; and always remember Martin Luther King Jr., a hero worthy of our respect and honor.
References
The King Center
Rebekah Richards - Rebekah Richards has published fiction and nonfiction in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, Brandeis Law Journal, Where the Children Play, ...
