More than a king, a prince of peace
Dr. King led an American
revolution of love, truth
I consider Jan. 15, 1929 to be one of the greatest days in the
history of America. On this day, a faint glimmer stood out against
the overwhelming backdrop of darkness under which America had
existed. On this day, the sun bathed America in a golden shower,
where before there had simply been storms and rain. On this day, a
light of hope brightened the tunnel of hopelessness, and faith was
imparted to a dying people.
On this day, moral authority once again asserted its
superiority, and the wheels of justice began to turn once more. On
this day, truth arose from its slumbering couch, and love began to
fly on the currents of wind that swept across the nation.
On this day, a king was born. This king had inherited a crown,
ordained by God, to carry on a special mission. With love in his
heart and tolerance in his soul, he turned not away. His scepter
had been held by the likes of Frederick Douglass, Booker T.
Washington, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Gandhi … and the
Yoruba proverb says, "If we stand tall it is because we stand on
the backs of those who came before us."
Truly this king ascended a battle-scarred trail of the weary
backs of great African Americans who came before him. Upon
conception, he moved to the front of this line. Upon his birth, he
became our true leader. The one who would lead his people to
freedom.
At his greatest maturity, he stood no more than 5 feet 7 inches
tall. Yet, upon his shoulders had been placed a mantle that, in
retrospect, seemed inconceivable. This man, whose kingly attire
consisted only of simple black silk suits and a black tie, carried
a movement. Through opposition, disdain, discouragement, heartache,
abuse, temptation, persecution and scorn, this king carried the
light of the Civil Rights Movement.
What else can I say about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? Almost
every positive characteristic that can be attributed to a man has
been bestowed upon him. Men and women around the world speak of him
as a great man who we will always cherish and remember. But do we
really know how great Dr. King was? Do we really comprehend the
magnitude of Dr. King’s work? Are we aware of the weight that the
little man carried?
Sometimes I feel that America as a whole does not realize the
worth of Dr. King. Especially when it took so long to make his
birthday a national holiday. Especially when Stevie Wonder had to
write a song urging our people to support King’s birthday as a
national holiday. Maybe I shouldn’t dwell on the past, but I can’t
help feeling that many of us don’t understand the revolution that
was waged right here on American soil.
This revolution was not only a revolution that pitted the masses
against a governing power. It was an ideological revolution. It was
an intellectual revolution. Most of all, this revolution predicated
itself upon the changing of man’s heart. Martin Luther King Jr.
waved the U.S. Constitution as his flag. He proclaimed to the
white, deaf ears of American injustice, "Don’t you see where YOU
said, all men are created equal?" Almost as if to exclaim, "We
didn’t say it! YOU said it!" And yet Jim Crow was allowed to exist,
and silly rules of "separate but equal" were applied to our
educational system and to our social practices.
But the beauty in this revolution was his approach. Taking Jesus
as his example, Dr. King encouraged his followers to lay down their
physical weapons. He encouraged his people to bury their feelings
of hate and disdain. He discouraged violence of any kind, but he
glorified nonviolence.
The greatest revolution of all time was based upon Matthew 5:44,
the scripture where Jesus said, "But I say to you, love your
enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you,
and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." The
greatest revolution ever seen turned away from traditional
bloodshed and forced all men, regardless of race, creed or color,
to examine themselves. Racist white men and women had to search the
annals of their hearts.
These same Christians who in their segregated white churches on
Sunday morning preached "love your neighbor as yourself" had to
search themselves to find if truth had really found a home in their
heart. And as they looked at little black children being bitten by
trained attack dogs, and black men and women being tossed about by
hard streams of water from fire hoses, and black old men and women
being spit upon and beaten for the right to sit down next to a
white person, they had to realize that truth was far from them.
That’s why the Southern Baptist Church recently issued a public
apology to African Americans for being racist and prejudiced and
not living by the precepts that Christ set forth. Dr. King led a
revolution that pricked the hearts of a nation and awakened a
dormant conscience.
And as I see Dr. King standing in the shadow of his Nobel Peace
Prize, I understand that it takes more to love than it does to
hate. As I see Dr. King standing in Mason Temple in Memphis, Tenn.,
saying his last speech, I hear, "I may not get there with you, but
mine eyes have seen the promised land." And it is this promised
land, envisioned in the eyes of Dr. King, that we are yet striving
toward.
You can have your violence. But I’ll take nonviolence. Because
nonviolence is a way of life for a courageous people. You other
revolutionaries can have violence, but I’ll take the moral
authority that comes through nonviolence. I’ll take the suffering
that nonviolence brings, because like Dr. King, I believe that
suffering has the power to educate and transform people and
societies. I’ll give the Muslims self-defense. But I’ll defend
myself through love, and through perseverance in truth and
righteousness.
It’s harder to turn the other cheek than to fight back. With
that, I’ll leave the path of least resistance, but I’ll take the
high road. Because that’s the road that leads to the promised
land.
And just as Moses didn’t reach the promised land, Dr. King never
truly experienced the realization of his dream. But just as Moses
led his people from Pharoah’s grasp, Dr. King led his beautiful,
black people from the grasp of a racist, white society. Of course
there’s more progress to be made, and there’s so much more to be
done. Of course racial problems and tensions yet plague our nation.
But with admiration and pride do I view the legacy of one of the
greatest kings to ever live.
On April 4, 1968, the heavens shed many tears. Roses stopped
blooming, and they shriveled and withered in sadness. The rainbow
hid its face, and the trees stood stoic in absence of the cooling
breeze. A great many people shed tears, and they grieved for the
great king they had lost. Even the man in the moon stopped smiling
as a tear circled the craters on his giant cheek.
But even in the midst of Dr. King’s terrible, untimely death, I
can still see hope stamping out hopelessness. I see the faith he
brought with his birth join with truth to uplift the heads of a
downtrodden people. I see love still permeating the air of our
societies. Even as Dr. King closed his eyes in eternal rest, the
wheels of justice never stopped turning. The far-reaching arm of
equality never ceased its great stretch toward the African
American. And the great revolution of nonviolence never stopped
moving.
Only now, the scepter must be passed on. And Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. will join the trail of those who helped someone else stand
tall. I thank God for Dr. King. For I know the prince will bring
something even greater. Peace.
Howard is a fourth-year anthropology student. His column appears
on alternate Thursdays.Comments to webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu