A Memo on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

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Today is the day we have set aside to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but how much do we really understand about the man himself? When you hear the name, or his initials as he is more commonly referred by, you often think of his iconic “I have a dream,” speech, an image of him speaking on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, and maybe an image of him marching. His name has become synonymous with the Civil Rights Movement and non-violent protests. Year after year, snippets from his letters and speeches are clipped, quoted, and made into cute images to be shared across social media channels to inspire and motivate. Because his impact is well-established in our minds, I have found that the finer details of his life often get lost.

I am ashamed to admit that he was more idea than man to me until I was in my twenties. It wasn’t until I saw the film Selma by visionary director Ava DuVernay that I began to understand what it was like for Dr. King and other activists while they were organizing, strategizing, and leading others to fight for their voting rights. That film deeply impacted me, and I encourage you all to see it if you haven’t, but the part that jump started my own research into de-mystifying Dr. King was learning that he was just 39 at the time of his murder. Thirty-nine years old. It boggled my mind, because how could someone who had become a household name, the face of an entire movement, won a Nobel Peace Prize, and gave all those quotable speeches not live to see the young age of 40?! With that simple fact, I felt the gap close between a subject in my U.S. History class and reality. Life was breathed into the dusty textbook image I had of him, and he began to feel tangible to me. The more I learned, the more the black & white images of him turned to color. (I mean that literally too. It wasn’t that long ago and there are plenty images of Dr. King in color).

?And so today, I’d love to theoretically color your image of Dr. King. He was born in the winter of 1929 in Atlanta, GA and 15 years later, smack dab in the middle of WWII, he began his freshman year at Morehouse College. Yes, you read that correctly; Dr. King went to college at 15. He graduated college at 19 and in the same year he was ordained and appointed pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church. His pursuit of education did not stop there, and at 26 years old he’d been awarded his doctorate in systemic theology at Boston University. This was also unheard of at that time. He was incredibly intelligent. It was right around then that he married Coretta and started a family, and his house was bombed due to leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Take a moment and imagine that you are in your mid to late twenties. You have a new family, a 7-month old baby to be exact, a new job, a new home – and it’s bombed. Bombed. Would you have kept going in your pursuit for equal rights? Dr. King did. After every bombing, threat, beating, stabbing, and arrest, he persisted. Despite extreme danger to himself, his family, his friends, and his congregation, he persisted. The threats of violence were not empty; he watched others be brutally beaten and murdered, and still, he persisted. It was anything but an inspirational quote from a speech or two. It was pain. It was courage. It was devotion. It was, quite literally, life or death.

He was a person, a very young person, who could have been doing anything else with his time, but he was aware of his purpose and he walked in it. And by having the courage to stand up for what he believed in, he helped alter the course of American history. He was a father, a husband, a preacher, a brother, and a friend. He was an activist and a risk-taker. He dedicated his life to service, and it cost him his life.

Today, I feel fortunate for Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement. I have many freedoms that my parents and grandparents didn’t have because of them and their sacrifices. This MLK, Jr. Day, I encourage you to do a little more than share his dream. I encourage you to serve. Find a cause that you believe in and give back to your community. Here is a great article by Teach for America with many ideas of how to honor Dr. King’s legacy with action and education. I will personally be donating some of my coats to a local coat drive to help those in need. If you’re inspired to read more of his works, Letter from Birmingham Jail is a great place to start.