Let us turn our thoughts today
To Martin Luther King
And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women
Living on the Earth
Ties of hope and love
Sister and brotherhood
That we are bound together
In our desire to see the world become
A place in which our children
Can grow free and strong
We are bound together
By the task that stands before us
And the road that lies ahead
- James Taylor -
I was 12 years old when Martin Luther King was murdered in Memphis. I followed the news closely even then and so I knew who he was...knew what he was working for...knew that we had lost a man striving to make us all the best that we could be...a standardbearer for social change too long in the offing...a frontline soldier in the war for equality and a peacemaker.
I remembered that Dr. King had come to Los Angeles during the Watts Riots (I lived in the Southeast Los Angeles, near the Memorial Coliseum and the campus of USC, at the time and, while our neighborhood was not aflame, the high school that was two blocks away from my home was a staging area for the National Guard who had been called in to put down the turmoil and we were under a curfew for the duration) but he hadn't been well received by either the white or black communities at the time. (In that tumultuous time...a time when martyred Malcolm had already become an iconic figure to many...a time when Stokely was calling the black community to arms...a time when the Panthers proudly prowled the streets of the inner cities...Dr. King was seen by some in the black community as an anachronism...even, by those less generous, as an Uncle Tom... preaching the turning of cheeks to people who wanted to exact an eye for an eye; he was, there as elsewhere, seen as an uppity troublemaker and rabble rouser by some in the white community.)
But, even so, I knew he was a man worthy of respect...a man with a dream (a dream that is, to this day, still in the process of coming true...but the motion is ever forward towards that goal and I hope he would be heartened by that)...a man who, whatever his personal fears, foibles, and demons, was willing to stand up for...and indeed to die for...that which he believed in (something few of us, if we are honest with ourselves, would be willing to do in such a powerful and provocative manner.)
I would like to think that Dr. King would disdain the deification of himself and his life that has followed his killing...would like to think that he would be both humbled and puzzled by the fact that his birthday is a national holiday...and, most of all, I would like to think that he would see that his life was extremely worthwhile having made a very positive, extremely uplifting impact on his generation and the generations that have followed (and will follow still)...that his untimely death was, after all is said and done, not at all in vain. I would really like to think all of that...and in fact I do.
Martin Luther King would have been 76 years old on January 15th.
To Martin Luther King
And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women
Living on the Earth
Ties of hope and love
Sister and brotherhood
That we are bound together
In our desire to see the world become
A place in which our children
Can grow free and strong
We are bound together
By the task that stands before us
And the road that lies ahead
- James Taylor -
I was 12 years old when Martin Luther King was murdered in Memphis. I followed the news closely even then and so I knew who he was...knew what he was working for...knew that we had lost a man striving to make us all the best that we could be...a standardbearer for social change too long in the offing...a frontline soldier in the war for equality and a peacemaker.
I remembered that Dr. King had come to Los Angeles during the Watts Riots (I lived in the Southeast Los Angeles, near the Memorial Coliseum and the campus of USC, at the time and, while our neighborhood was not aflame, the high school that was two blocks away from my home was a staging area for the National Guard who had been called in to put down the turmoil and we were under a curfew for the duration) but he hadn't been well received by either the white or black communities at the time. (In that tumultuous time...a time when martyred Malcolm had already become an iconic figure to many...a time when Stokely was calling the black community to arms...a time when the Panthers proudly prowled the streets of the inner cities...Dr. King was seen by some in the black community as an anachronism...even, by those less generous, as an Uncle Tom... preaching the turning of cheeks to people who wanted to exact an eye for an eye; he was, there as elsewhere, seen as an uppity troublemaker and rabble rouser by some in the white community.)
But, even so, I knew he was a man worthy of respect...a man with a dream (a dream that is, to this day, still in the process of coming true...but the motion is ever forward towards that goal and I hope he would be heartened by that)...a man who, whatever his personal fears, foibles, and demons, was willing to stand up for...and indeed to die for...that which he believed in (something few of us, if we are honest with ourselves, would be willing to do in such a powerful and provocative manner.)
I would like to think that Dr. King would disdain the deification of himself and his life that has followed his killing...would like to think that he would be both humbled and puzzled by the fact that his birthday is a national holiday...and, most of all, I would like to think that he would see that his life was extremely worthwhile having made a very positive, extremely uplifting impact on his generation and the generations that have followed (and will follow still)...that his untimely death was, after all is said and done, not at all in vain. I would really like to think all of that...and in fact I do.
Martin Luther King would have been 76 years old on January 15th.
"Shed a Little Light" words and music by James Taylor
9 comments:
Warchild13@spymac.com
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As many strides that have been taken I am still often revulsed by the huge amount of rascism and bigotry that still exists. As bad as I think it is it's horrifying considering what things would be like if there had been no Dr. King
we must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools... thats always been my favourite quote for life. from Mellowyellow blogging by via BE
http://older.blogdrive.com
I agree with the first comment. Organizations like the NAACP - just the name is racist. Why can the change their name to the NAAAP - National Association for the Advancement of ALL People?
MLK was a great man who changed America forever for the better.
I used to think that racism was overblown. Easy to say as a white man.
But when I decided to come out as gay when I was 34 years old, and suddenly people you have known your whole life start treating you differently and with contempt, I suddenly realized how difficult it must be to be a minority.
As a gay person, I can keep my sexuality hidden if I want to. A black person can't. And because of that, there will always be bigots out there who decide to treat them differently.
It's hard to believe he would only be 76. Makes you realize how young he was when his life was stolen from him.
I have posted a brief excerpt from your blog on mine, with a link to your posting; I was moved by your words.
My daughter is enthralled with MLK. She has a book about him and likes to read it. I find it cute/endearing when she says things like "I am white but I would never do that!" in reference to Rosa Parks.
Liing in Korea, I had completely forgotten about today being MLK Day. I don't think it was planned but a TV show here in Korea showed Smokey Robinson singing Abraham Martin and John this afternoon. Interesting timing.
Coming from America as a white woman, living here in Korea has also opened my eyes to how it might be like to live as a minority in America. Lots of misconceptions abound.
Very moving. I'm always interested to hear about people's memories of Dr. King. Thank you.
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