By Dr. David Childs, Ph.D.
Northern Kentucky University
Introduction
With the celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s life and work it is a good time to take a deeper look at his legacy. The celebrations of Martin Luther King usually consist of an emphasis on his most popular speeches, his marches and also his death. Although, popular tributes to King are of the utmost importance, they fail to take an in-depth analysis of his more complex and sophisticated ideas. When one delves deep into the works of Dr. Martin Luther King, one discovers that he talked a lot about many democratic principles such as justice, freedom, equality, fairness and creating what he called the “beloved community.” These principles can apply to societal challenges today. This article offers resources that can help students, the general public, teachers and scholars take a more in-depth look at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It provides some information and resources outside of mainstream portrayals of Dr. King that may be useful tools in addressing some of the social and political challenges in which we find ourselves today.
King Was Not Always Popular
Dr. King was vilified, harassed and eventually murdered because his ideas challenged the status quo and the established order. Ironically, many people that celebrate Dr. King in our time would not have supported him when he was living and would have considered him to be a radical. Martin was a man of great integrity, who was very kind and selfless as well. However, his unpopularity came because he courageously spoke out and pushed against the establishment. Stephen and Paul Kendrick in an April 3, 2018 Washington Post Op Ed article wrote “In our long effort to moderate King, to make him safe, we have forgotten how unpopular he had become by 1968. In his last years, King was harassed, dismissed and often saddened. These years after Selma are often dealt with in a narrative rush toward martyrdom, highlighting his weariness. But what is missed is his resilience under despair. It was when his plans faltered under duress that something essential emerged. The final period of King’s life may be exactly what we need to recall, bringing lessons from that time of turmoil to our time of disillusion.” Right up unto the day that he died, King had many critics, but after he was killed people celebrated and praised him. Perhaps this is because many people are not always willing to make sacrifices, but when the time comes for accolades there are no shortage of supporters.
- How might Dr. King’s ideas about equality and moral law be applied to some of the sociopolitical challenges we see in our time?
Most Americans Didn’t Approve of Martin Luther King Jr. Before His Death, Polls Show
King was unpopular and demoralized before he died. He pressed on anyway
Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Addresses Some of His Critics
Dr. King’s letter from the Birmingham Jail is a good source too add to the discussion about the many critics he had. Martin chose to go into the ministry after first considering being a medical doctor or lawyer. In his writings, he states that the church and his role as a minister gave him the best resources and platform to answer “an inner urge to serve humanity.” Thus, the opinions of his fellow ministers (He directs the letter to his “fellow clergymen”) was very important to him. Apparently in King’s day many of the ministers were very critical of the work he had been doing. He starts off stating “while confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities unwise and untimely.” He goes on to say that “If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.” As evident in this quote, one can clearly note that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was not always viewed as the kindly, soft, superhero in which society views him today. As the letter also indicates, some of the disapproval came from his colleagues in the ministry. To be fair, Martin enjoyed immense popularity among many people, but he had just as many enemies as he had admirers, if not more.
Letter from Birmingham Jail
King’s Non-Violence Stance Was Not Always so Certain
One of the principles King is most noted for is his practice of nonviolent resistance. However, it is not common knowledge that he did not start out this way early in his work. But, through much of the literature he read and those who mentored him he moved in that direction. His advisers showed him an alternative to violence and how nonviolent resistance can act as a powerful tool. The goal was not to humiliate one’s opponent but to win them over as a friend. He took to the idea also because of his religious beliefs as a Christian and a Baptist minister. Two of King’s primary advisers were Christian theologian Howard Thurman and white activists Harris Wofford, from the Christian pacifist tradition. Another one of King’s key mentors was veteran African-American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who helped coach and train him in strategies of non-violent resistance. Both Wofford and Rustin both studied Gandhi’s teachings and exposed King to his philosophies. In King’s early activism in the 1950’s he rarely used the term “nonviolence” and knew very little about Gandhi’s work. Surprisingly, King did not always subscribe to nonviolence and early on believed in self-defense. King had even purchased firearms to protect his family from attackers in his home. Later in his activism he strongly and publicly denounced the personal use of guns, however Dr. King always had conflicted views of self-defense. Even though he spoke out against self-defense, many of his associates carried fire arms to protect him. So perhaps he was influenced by the realities of his day and black activist who unapologetically advocated for the use of violence if necessary.
Dr. King’s Nonviolence Stance
Deeper Concepts in King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” Often Missed
In the media and at MLK events when one hears excerpts from King’s most popular speech entitled “I have a Dream”, it is heard starting from the climax toward the end of the speech that repeats “I have a dream.” We hear King begin this segment with the lines “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” Even though these words are electrifying and speak of high moral ideals, people miss equally deep and powerful concepts discussed earlier in the speech. For example, in an earlier part of the speech Dr. King states: “Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” Even though these words were spoken in 1963 it applies to our time period as if it were written for today. There has long been the popular notion that America has moved well past the injustices and racial prejudices of the Civil Rights era, however with the rise of hate groups, white supremacy and racial rhetoric in our society, it seems that the nation has regressed and given way again to racial divisions on a wide scale. Indeed, the line “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood” can be applied to today as our country becomes more and more divided along racial lines, Martin’s “I Have a Dream Speech” speech reminds us that racial injustice can act as quicksand that can impede progress in our land; it can cause us to be stuck. But King’s legacy reminds us to lift up our nation toward a more just society.
Original “I Have Dream” Transcript
Discussion Questions:
• What progress has been made in terms of racial reconciliation sense Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s time?
• How much progress have we really made in terms of race relations and equality since the Civil Rights era?
• Are there incidents, events or attitudes in today’s society that remind us of the times in which Dr. King lived? If so, what are they?
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. talked a good deal about race, but he also talked about economic injustice, do you think we have made much progress in terms of economic equality?
• If Martin were living today how would he feel about society? What kinds of things might he be saying?
Below are a number of lesson plans and resources for teachers and students that offer a more in-depth study of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Lesson Plans
Classroom Resources for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Grades K-5
Classroom Resources for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Grades 6-8
Classroom Resources for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Grades 9-12
Lesson Plans & Teacher Guides
Sermons and Speech Transcripts
The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life,” Sermon Delivered at Friendship Baptist Church
“Loving Your Enemies,” Sermon Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church
“But If Not” – A Sermon by Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Why Jesus Called A Man A Fool” (Sermon) Martin Luther King Jr.
Sermons/Speeches- Audiovisual Resources
Our God Is Marching On! (March 25, 1965)
MLK: Beyond Vietnam — A Time to Break Silence
Martin Luther King, Jr., American Dream
Martin Luther King – But if Not – Full Sermon
Martin Luther King’s Last Speech: “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop”
Conclusion of “I’ve Been To The Mountaintop” Speech
Martin Luther King, Jr., “What Is Your Life’s Blueprint?”
Martin Luther King “If I had Sneezed”
Other Audiovisual Resources
Mahalia Jackson singing & Martin Luther King Jr preaching at Church
Martin Luther King, Jr. – Minister & Civil Rights Activist
References
The Greatest MLK Speeches You Never Heard
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was stabbed by a deranged woman. At 29, he almost died.
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King Is Slain in Memphis; A White Is Suspected; Johnson Urges Calm
I thought that this article was very insightful and really showed me more than what society today shows of his life. Like a few people have said before me and like you said unfortunately our society is going backwards people have so much hate towards one another and I am very saddened by this. Also,when reading this I thought to myself how important it is to teach my students the reality of what life was like for MLK Jr. and once they reach a certain age to listen to the whole speech. I think this because it could be a great lesson to teach students to stand up for themselves and what they think is right even when others are against them. Up until last week I had never heard or read his full I have a dream speech and the whole thing is so powerful that I wish I had heard/read it sooner.
I believe that if Martin Luther King Jr were living today he would agree that we have taken steps backward when it comes to racial divide and discrimination. I imagine King would be giving encouraging words to motivate society just as he did during his time spent on earth. He would be reminding us of how far we had come to turn back around and repeat history the way it was before. However, I think he would be heart broken to see the brokenness that still remains and even is digressing now more than ever before within the world. If , I were him, I would be expectant of someone to stand up today just as his did and fight for what for those barriers to be broken. Lastly, I was surprised to be informed about Martin being a rather unpopular guy before his speech and the way he influenced society compared to how well known he is today for his speech and the movement that was made because of his impact on the world around him.I think it is awesome that even though there were people in his time that didn’t agree or support King, that he stood grounded in his beliefs and took action regardless of what lash back might be in response to him.
I like how you mentioned at the end that the words that Dr. King spoke are still relevant for today. I believe a major factor in the regression of racial equality is social media. So many false or biased articles are written, along with their headlines blasted everywhere that have an agenda to make people of color look bad. I hope that in the future the many resources we have through social media can be used to give people facts and information, not lies.
I think we often immortalize Martin Luther King Jr. and talk about all the change he encouraged and even made, but we often forget how much of a normal person he actually was. As Americans we often forget that is just like us and all he wanted to do is make the world a better place for future generations, just like most of us want to do today. While reading this article I kept thinking about how we can still apply the “I have a dream” speech to our culture and how it is important that we keep growing as a country. It is crazy to me that after 55 years we still have so much room to grow as a country even though we have come so far since Dr. King’s time. We are still a very divided country and have so much more growing to do and still can learn from Dr. King and his speech.
I think that shortly after his death things did begin to change and I believe that slowly things became more fair and equal for everyone. But like you said I think we are regressing. Instead of getting farther away than that we are just backsliding. The parts of Martin’s speech that were left out are just as important as the parts that are more notorious. If he were still alive I think he would not see that we have improved instead he would still be trying to help us all be equal and treated fairly.
In our society we place a great emphasis and importance on Dr Martin Luther King Jr as we rightfully should do, however it is irresponsible of us to place him on such a high pestel that we cannot recognize who he really was, and what he truly believed. By sainting this man, we fail to recognize that he was hated and persecuted, yet he still persisted, we fail to recognize his imperfection and struggles. Ultimately we make him into such a perfect person, that we discourage new activist to pursue social change, because they feel they are not able to because they aren’t perfect like the men and women who came before them such as Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
To be completely honest, I learned more about Martin Luther King Jr. from this article than I learned in my 12 year of elementary, middle, and high school. MLK, in my experience, is only discussed around Martin Luther King day. Typically, people are more excited about getting the day off than learning about the man who gave us this day. This year on MLK day, I went to the Freedom Center in Cincinnati to learn more about the past and about things I was unaware of. I learned a lot of things from this article that I was unaware of too. I could repeat the common “I have a dream…” passage to anyone who asked, but I had no idea how rich the rest of his speech was. I completely agree with Dr. Childs on the fact that his whole speech is relevant today as much as it was then. As a future teacher, I hope to incorporate more of Martin Luther King Jr and his teachings into my classroom, not just around his day, but throughout the school year.
I think your point about how Dr. King was not always viewed as the saint he is today is very important. I think if Dr. King was alive and an activist today he would be deemed with a negative view. Fox News would probably call him a crybaby, and the president would probably have tweeted at him a few times. Slavery and segregation were not thousands of years ago. Many can still tell stories of their separate bathrooms. I believe Dr. King would try and call out institutionalized racism today.
This article made me more aware of just how much Martin Luther King Jr. was a normal person. I think we often immortalize him and talk about all the change he encouraged. We forget he is human quality like how to handle violence, and that not every war was won with ease. I had no idea that King wasn’t a big fan of nonviolence protest at first. While reading this article about how we can still apply the “I have a dream” speech to our culture, was a complete shame to me. I would say the life that King wanted for his children is better than it was at the time, but its anything from perfect. I personally don’t understand the great divide, but why is it after 55 years we still do not respect one another, and racism seems to be raising. When will enough be enough?
I think that if Martin Luther King Jr. was alive today, he would be very upset with this country. There was a time where segregation was decreasing and less people were becoming racists, however, that’s not the case anymore. Now it’s as if times are slowly going back to what they used to be. I think if Martin was alive he would be saying how he had traded his whole life to try to demolish racism and it is as if no one cares. I think he would be saying that for a country that is known for freedom, we sure don’t act like it or treat this country and it’s people like they deserve. I think overall Martin Luther King Jr. would be disappointed in the way this country is.