Mike Parker: To honor King’s memory, work for education and justice
The Protestant reformer John Calvin once lamented, “If they had only to looked into my books.” Calvin came to know the pain of being a symbol. The reality of what he thought and taught was buried beneath interpretations imposed on him by others.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is in danger of becoming a similar symbol. Once he becomes only a symbol, what he thought and taught will be largely eclipsed by the symbolic content his memory will hold, a content defined by others – not himself.
Dr. King could easily join in Calvin’s lament. “If they only took the time to look at what he wrote and said,” he could say today.
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is a case in point. He wrote the letter in response to a public statement by eight Alabama clergymen who pleaded with African Americans to be patient. These clergymen deplored the demonstrations King was leading.
They commended their own community and law officers for their restraint and urged their “own Negro community to withdraw support from these demonstrations, and to unite locally in working peacefully for a better Birmingham.”
They called King’s actions “unwise and untimely.” King read their statement while in jail in Birmingham. He began his answer courteously by pointing out he seldom responded to criticism of his work for Civil Rights. He wrote: “But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.”
He compared himself to the Old Testament prophets and the Apostle Paul, who left their homes to carry God’s message. He said, “So I am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.” Injustice thrived in the Birmingham of his time, and he contended that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
He chided the clergymen for deploring the demonstrations without also deploring the conditions in Birmingham that caused the demonstrations. The protests sprang from conditions in Birmingham that made African Americans second-class citizens. He detailed unkept promises that encompassed things as simple as removing racially humiliating signs.
He reminded these men that while they called for negotiation, the purpose of the demonstrations was to bring about meaningful negotiation.
“Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue.”
King reminded us of our own collective history. “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” I am not sure if Dr. King had in mind the Declaration of Independence in mind when he wrote those words, but I cannot help but remember that this nation was born of the willingness of people to fight rather than endure oppression.
Dr. King writes: “Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. For instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest.”
King’s letter is filled with rich illustrations that show the depth of his education and the clarity of his writing and thinking. Yet how many school-age children have read that letter? How many adults today have ever read it?
We hear about “the dream,” but we know little of the dreamer. The greatest tribute anyone, regardless of ethnic background or age, can give Dr. King’s memory is to read what he wrote.
Wearing a picture of Dr. King on a T-shirt or marching to remember him is one thing. Sadly, such surface behaviors can make him into a symbol. Knowing what he believed and working to make his dream a reality is the best way to honor his memory and ensure Dr. King remains a thoughtful voice for Civil Rights.
If you would like to read his letter, visit this link:
https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
Mike Parker is a columnist for the Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.
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