Opinion Pieces

An Insight Into……. Martin Luther King Day

January 17, 2005

In December, 1955, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. received his doctorate degree in theology and moved to Montgomery, Alabama to preach at a Baptist church. There he saw that African-Americans had to ride in the back of public buses. Dr. King knew that this law violated the rights of every African-American. He organized and led a boycott of all public buses in the city. Anyone--black or white--who was against segregation, refused to use public transportation. The people who boycotted were threatened, attacked, and even arrested and jailed. After 382 days of boycotting the bus system, the Supreme Court declared that the Alabama state segregation law was unconstitutional.

This was the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. In the years following, Dr. King continued to organize non-violent protests against unequal treatment of African-American people. His philosophy remained peaceful. He constantly reminded his supporters that they would be victorious if they did not resort to bloodshed. Nonetheless, he and his demonstrators were often threatened and attacked. Demonstrations which began peacefully often ended up in violence, and he and many others were often arrested. 

On August 23, 1963, before a crowd of more than 250,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C. to support the passing of laws that guaranteed every American equal civil rights, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech that was later entitled "I Have a Dream." The March was one of the largest gatherings of black and white people that the nation's capital had ever seen... and no violence occurred.  One year later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. The act guarantees equal rights in housing, public facilities, voting, public schools and judicial matters. A civil rights commission ensures that these laws are enforced.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and thousands of others then knew that they had not struggled in vain.  The same year Dr. King won the Nobel Peace Prize.  In 1968, he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee while leading a workers' strike.  The world grieved the loss of this man of peace.

The Making of a Holiday 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death did not slow the Civil Rights Movement. Black and white people continued to fight for freedom and equality. In 1970, Coretta Scott King, Dr. King’s widow, established the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center in Atlanta, Georgia. This "living memorial" consists of his boyhood home and the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King is buried.  On Monday, January 20, 1986, in cities and towns across the country people celebrated the first official Martin Luther King Day. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan declared the third Monday in January a federal legal holiday commemorating Dr. King's birthday. Schools, offices and federal agencies are closed for the holiday and there are quiet memorial services as well as elaborate ceremonies in honor of Dr. King. On the preceding sabbath, ministers of all religions give special sermons reminding everyone of Dr. King's lifelong work for peace.

The following is an excerpt from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech.   

"I Have a Dream"

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment 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." 

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. 

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama ... will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. 

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring." 

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of that old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!"