I was a child when Martin Luther King rose to prominence in the public eye. It was a troubled time, very troubled. There was a lot of hatred going around, resentment, and the deaths of both black and white children to show for it. I recall the Freedom Riders, the deaths of Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney by the KKK; I watched little girls dying in church bombings, riots. It was an ugly time, a scary time for a child who couldnt fully understood why there was so much anger, why people were willing to kill children, willing to kill young college students just signing up black voters in Mississippi. And in that midst of hatred, rose a man with the power to spellbind people to listening. Instead of preaching ‘an eye for an eye’, he offered ‘turn the other cheek’. In the face of violence, he offered peace. Martin Luther King understood the only way to win was to do it honorably. There are those who try to tear down his memory, saying he wasn’t perfect. Well, none of us are. But few have the inner force to stand against an injustice, and do it with an opened hand and “we shall overcome” honorably. For that grace under fire, for offering gentleness instead of violence, for giving peace instead of battles in the streets, I pause for a moment in memory of a man that made us all just a little be better.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 11:45:10 +0000
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