Civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King is honored with a holiday in his memory today. Martin Luther King Day is commemorated on the third Monday in January each year. This year’s official holiday is Monday, Jan. 19.The day honours his birthday and his fight for racial equality through nonviolent protest, becoming a national day of service to reflect on his legacy of justice and peace.
Efforts to honor King with a federal holiday began just months after his April 4, 1968 death. Those efforts failed, as did a 1979 vote by Congress that came after King's widow, Coretta Scott King, spoke out in favor of the day. Momentum for the holiday grew in 1980 when entertainer Stevie Wonder released "Happy Birthday" in King's honor, leading to a petition calling for MLK Day and, in 1983, House passage of a holiday bill.Today it is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer and improve their communities.
King was born Jan. 15, 1929 in Atlanta. Although the King family were relatively economically privileged, this did not fully shield him from the experience of racial prejudice when he was young – he was, after all, born in 1929, during an era of legal segregation.
A pivotal experience occurred in 1944 as he returned to Atlanta from an oratorical contest in Dublin, Georgia. He and his teacher were forced to stand on an overcrowded bus so whites could have the available seats. This left an indelible imprint on the young King, who had just delivered perhaps his first important public speech, on ‘The Negro and the Constitution’.
King’s home city of Atlanta was racially progressive by the standards of the American South. He would have suffered less exposure to white racism than did many other black children, but that didn’t stop his experiences of discrimination informing his understanding of injustice. Losing his white playmates when he and they had to attend separate schools provided an early lesson in the inequities of institutionalised racism.
King was greatly inspired by a confluence of factors, the foremost being the African-American church. His philosophy and practice of nonviolence was also influenced by his time as a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta from 1944 to 1948. Its president delivered weekly chapel talks in which he often spoke about social justice issues and the world leaders who were addressing them, including Mohandas Gandhi. In 1959, King would travel to India with his wife, Coretta Scott King, to learn more about the Gandhian practice of nonviolence.
Finally, King’s study of the works of western philosophers and theologians framed his thinking about nonviolence. Ultimately, he synthesised these influences – the black church, Gandhi, western philosophy and theology – to create his own, unique expression of nonviolence as evidenced in the American civil rights movement.
King’s faith was at the very core of his commitment to the struggle for black equality. As he put it: “Christ furnished the spirit and motivation while Gandhi furnished the method.”
Nonviolent protest was undoubtedly connected to King’s Christian faith and a tradition of redemptive suffering. However, the use of nonviolence within the movement predates King’s rise to prominence: the boycott of segregated transport by black communities, for instance, can be dated back to the late 19th century.
The 1955/56 Montgomery bus boycott [in which leading civil rights figures, including King, protested against the segregation of Alabama’s public transport] was part of a longer history of nonviolent protest in black communities.
Nonviolence also served a tactical role for the movement. By contrasting the nonviolence of protesters with the lawlessness and brutality of white supremacists, King was able to present an image of respectability and thereby secure support from white liberals.
King later helped form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and went on to lead protests throughout the South and, in 1963, was a central figure in the March on Washington.
King’s political career coincided with the communication revolution that occurred through the mass ownership of TVs. Suddenly, the black freedom struggle was being beamed right into people’s homes. News footage of racist police officers brutally assaulting peaceful black protesters mobilised public support for the civil rights cause. This in turn pressurised the federal government to take interventionist action.
Television also enabled King to reach an international audience. Thanks to a Telstar satellite, British audiences were able to watch live on August 28, 1963 the end of the March on Washington in 1963 at which King delivered his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ oration. King’s words were as powerful as his deeds, and his moving and eloquent addresses, which gave hope to millions, continue to inspire people throughout the world.
Martin Luther King - I Have A Dream Speech - August 28, 1963
While only 9 per cent of American households owned a TV in 1950, 93 per cent did so in 1966. This contributed significantly to the success of King’s movement. It also helped catapult the charismatic King into the spotlight of global attention.
King once declared that he would compel segregationists to do their evil in the spotlight of television and that this would make the world see their crimes. His protest campaigns in the Alabama towns of Birmingham in 1963 and Selma two years later were moral spectacles that made it hard for ordinary Americans to feel comfortable with what was happening.
Race was a controversial issue that most leaders in the United States wanted to avoid, which meant that King was usually seen as a problem rather than an ally. He met three presidents during his lifetime. Dwight D Eisenhower largely ignored him; John F Kennedy, typically via his brother Bobby, tried to control him (the Kennedys believed that King should be grateful for their attempts to help him); and Lyndon B Johnson wanted King to act in ways that supported him, and felt betrayed by King’s outspoken stance on Vietnam. FBI director J Edgar Hoover also told Kennedy and Johnson that King was dangerous and probably controlled by the communists.
Attorney General Robert Kennedy’s authorisation of FBI wiretaps on King’s home and office in 1963 reveals how the White House mistrusted King and attempted to control and manipulate him. Federal authorities were also more reactive than proactive on civil rights, meaning that King had to force their hand – as was the case in 1963, when first his campaign in Birmingham, Alabama and then the March on Washington pressured the Kennedy administration into pushing for the enactment of what eventually became the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Similarly, without the demonstrations that King led in Selma, Alabama, Lyndon B Johnson would not have pushed so hard for passing the outstanding legislative achievement of the civil rights movement – the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
His last speech was delivered on April 3, 1968 to a crowded church, in Memphis Tennessee. King spoke of the injustice he felt for the city's sanatoriam workers who were on strike protesting low pay and poor working conditions. Amid the call for African-Americans to boycott businesses that mistreated workers , he delivered a sermon, without notes, that focused on his life and disavowed any concern that he might be killed for his role in the fight for civil rights. 'Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about tat now,' the Rev. Mr King said that evening. 'I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you, But I want you to know tonight, that we as people , will get to the promised land,!' Now known as ' I've been to the Mountaintop,' the sermon was called King's ' ,most apocalyptic' by King scholar James Washington. He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennesee the next day, today April 4, 1968.
If you listen to the words, it's almost as if he was predicting his own death, powerfully prophetic.His strong voice still speaking out and touching us.
Martin Luther King Jr. “I've Been to the Mountaintop” - April 3, 1968 - Final Famous Speech
In this age of Trump and rising Bigotry we need voices like King's more than ever. A man who refused to dilute his ideas, with integrity and passion for the causes of equality, justice and freedom, long may we celebrate his brave voice and his powerful legacy.
Though Martin Luther King Day is an American holiday, the man himself was thoroughly international. His political thoughts traverses all borders.Like so many strugglers in the long fight against racism, King appreciated that it was, at it's heart a global project.
Many years later despite some victory's and gains, the march for equality is unfinished, and for some his dream is unrealised, take for instance the case of the Palestinians who are daily imprisoned.
We cannot let go of Dr King's dream, because, surely it is everybody's dream, we must continuously try to change the world, remember those in the U.S.A fighting for jobs and freedom, a land still lanquishing to find itself, while perpetrating injustice, discrimination and inequality. A country that imprisons more of their citizens than any other country in the world. African Americans in particular, though they are 12% of the population, make up 38% of the state prison population, despite their crimes being no different from their white and hispanic counterparts.
Today, we celebrate the life and birth of Martin Luther King Jr. We celebrate his legacy as a radical activist and anti-imperialist, who rightfully saw militarism, capitalism and fascism as the root causes of injustice in our society, and across the world.
Sadly King's legacy is gravely dishonoured every day that Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office.Trump scrapped free entry to National Parks on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and replaced it with his own birthday.Nevertheless even in the Trump era Dr King's words can still be be both sobering and inspiring, his words are a timeless representation of the struggles that disenfranchised people face..Lets continue to honor him and continue to live his legacy through our actions. In the face of cruelty and injustice, speak out, and speak up, for surely history will judge us all for our silence. we can still find the courage to stand up and say enough.
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor … it must be demanded by the oppressed!” King determined. Reminding us that “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in the moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at during times of challenge and controversy,” He also warned us that “We must learn to live together as brothers, or we will perish together as fools,”
Now more than ever, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s memory serves as a shining light in the darkness—and is a reminder that the fight for justice is far from over. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we are also reminded that justice is not automatic and freedom is not complete without equality and dignity for all. True freedom demands action standing against injustice, discrimination, and systems that deny people their rights.
As we honor the legacy of a true champion of equality and justice. Let's celebrate by spreading love, kindness, and unity. Seek common ground and shared purpose. Commit to peace, courage, and moral leadership. Lift up those who have been left behind and affirm the inherent dignity and worth of every person. While demanding a just society, guided by his courage to resist injustice, his vision of equality, and his unwavering belief that freedom is won through relentless, righteous action.
We at same time still need to abolish ICE. liberate Turtle Island, Palestine, Congo, Haiti, Sudan, West Papua, and the rest of our world.
Every one of us who refuses to be silent or defeated in the face of injustice and inequity has joined a rich tradition of fighting forward, and we owe it to Dr. King not to let anyone send us back to darker times. “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” —Martin Luther King Jr.
Here is an old poem of mine in Martin Luther King Jr honour
Strength to Love
Martin Luther King had a dream
That still today stirs our conscience,
He rejected violence to oppose racial injustice
Spread a message of peace, love and understanding,
His only weapons were his words and faith
As he marched in protest with his fellow man,
A force for good, but radical with intention
Pursued civil disobedience was not afraid
of confrontation,
We are all born equal under skin
This noble struggle never stops within,
The causes of poverty must still be eradicated
There is so much more room for change,
As fresh iniquities call, lets keep hope alive
Standing firm let our voices ring out,
Keep sharing deeds of deep principle
In the name of pride and in the name of love,
We are all still citizens of the world
As Martin Luther carries on reminding,
“Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever.
The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself.”
We must continue to resist and overcome,
One day soon, all our dreams will be realised.
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