The Life of Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
was a Baptist minister and civil rights leader during the 1950s and 1960s. He
was instrumental in the civil rights movement to bring about transformation in
race relations and to abolish the practice of segregation in the United
States. Martin Luther King Jr. did many
great deeds in his lifetime before his death in 1968, but perhaps the greatest
impact he had was through his powerful speeches and sermons. We will examine several of his speeches and
sermons and consider the impact of his words on modern Christianity then and
today.
Martin Luther King Jr.
was born in Altanta, Georgia on January 15th 1929 (Lewis &
Carson, 2020).
King grew up in a
relatively wealthy middle-class family (Lewis & Carson, 2020). His father
was pastor of a prominent church in Atlanta (Lewis & Carson, 2020). Though he did find himself impacted by
prejudice, even as a young child, when a white neighbor child’s parents refused
to allow their child to spent time with the young King (Lewis & Carson,
2020). His father and his grandmother
were very influential in his early upbringing (Lewis & Carson, 2020). At
age 15 King began an early college program at Morehouse College in Atlanta
(Lewis & Carson, 2020). He graduated from Morehouse in 1948 (Lewis &
Carson, 2020). King studied ministry at Crozer Theological Seminary and later
at Boston University (Lewis & Carson, 2020). While in Boston King met
Coretta Scott and they got married, later having four children (Lewis &
Carson, 2020).
In 1955 King was pastor
of a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama and took leadership of an initiative
to fight back against racial segregation on the bus system in Montgomery (Lewis
& Carson, 2020). This occurred after the incident in which Rosa Parks
refused to give up her seat to a white passenger, and was arrested (Lewis &
Carson, 2020). King organized a boycott
and a little over a year later the bus system was desegregated (Lewis &
Carson, 2020).
King developed a new
organization, the Southern Christian Leadership conference (Lewis & Carson,
2020). King began traveling the country preaching and speaking about race
relations and prejudice and injustice in the nation (Lewis & Carson, 2020).
He had the opportunity to spend time with Gandhi in 1959 and became
increasingly convinced that non-violent resistance was the best course of
action for the movement developing around him (Lewis & Carson, 2020).
In 1963 King was leading
a movement for desegregation of lunch counters and hiring practices in
Birmingham, Alabama when police in the area turned fire hoses and dogs against
the protesters, arresting several hundred including Martin Luther King Jr
(Lewis & Carson, 2020). He was
imprisoned and there he wrote his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (Lewis
& Carson, 2020).
In late 1963, MLK Jr.
joined with other civil rights leaders to organize the March on Washington, and
under the Lincoln memorial King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech to over
200,000 in attendance (Lewis & Carson, 2020). These events led to a mass
movement and change in the nation, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed
into law (Lewis & Carson, 2020). At the end of 1964 MLK Jr. was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize (Lewis & Carson, 2020).
King desired to launch
another march on Washington event but was strongly discouraged from doing so by
government officials (Lewis & Carson, 2020). Nevertheless, he led a march of protesters,
black and white, in Selma, coming to a bridge where police were arrayed to stop
them (Lewis & Carson, 2020). In a stunning turn, King fell on his knees and
prayed, along with those gathered in the protest, and then turned and retreated
from the scene (Lewis & Carson, 2020).
But the public was once again roused and in 1965 the Voting Rights Act
was passed into law (Lewis & Carson, 2020).
But another movement was
coming about that did not favor King’s non-violent peaceable approach to racial
justice (Lewis & Carson, 2020).
Rioting occurred in the Watts district of Los Angels in August of 1965
(Lewis & Carson, 2020). King responded to growing discontent in urban areas
due to discrimination by leading a campaign in Chicago to push back against
unjust segregation policies in housing (Lewis & Carson, 2020). The peaceful
demonstrations resulted in an agreement between justice activists and city
officials that did little to bring about change in the community (Lewis &
Carson, 2020). Increasingly younger black-power activists were challenging Dr.
King and publicly decrying his cautious approaches to racial justice (Lewis
& Carson, 2020). Malcom X even called Dr. King’s approach of non-violence
in the face of violence as “criminal” (Lewis & Carson, 2020). Malcom X
believed anyone under attack should defend themselves and strike back with
violence (Lewis & Carson, 2020).
Martin Luther King Jr.
began to broaden his approach to social issues, dealing with wider topics, such
as the Vietnam War and national poverty (Lewis & Carson, 2020). King devoted himself to speaking out
consistently against the Vietnam War which he considered to be an immoral war
(Lewis & Carson, 2020). And he began
to take on poverty not just for people of color, but for all races, attempting
to gather a union of various impoverished individuals from all races to bring
about social change (Lewis & Carson, 2020). In 1968 King was planning a
Poor People’s March to Washington, but these efforts were interrupted when King
decided to join in a city sanitation worker’s strike in Memphis, Tennessee
(Lewis & Carson, 2020). King gave his last public message at the Mason
Temple Church in Memphis, seeming to prophetically point to his passing, when
he indicated that he had “seen the promised land” (Lewis & Carson, 2020). And the next day, April 4th of
1968, while King was standing on the second-story balcony of the Lorraine
Motel, King was killed by a sniper’s bullet (Lewis & Carson, 2020). His
death sparked protests and civil disturbances in over 100 cities in the United
States (Lewis & Carson, 2020). But his legacy would live on in a nation
roused to the concerns of racial justice, and the various pieces of legislation
produced on the local, state, and federal levels to deal with systemic
injustice.
When discussing the life
of Martin Luther King Jr. it’s important to note that King was not a perfect
individual. There are numerous reports of sexual misconduct, and repeated
affairs from FBI surveillance records of his activities over the years of his
civil rights campaigns (Greenberg, White, Sitrin, & Gerstein, 2019). It was
reported that he was involved in group sexual activity (Greenberg, White,
Sitrin, & Gerstein, 2019). And one particularly disturbing incident records
that a fellow pastor, Logan Kearse held down a woman and raped her, while King
laughed, and offered advice as it happened (Greenberg, White, Sitrin, &
Gerstein, 2019). These revelations came out with reports from the FBI, who were
monitoring King, which were made public due to Freedom of Information Act
requests (Greenberg, White, Sitrin, & Gerstein, 2019). It was also revealed
that King had continued to take money from his friend Stanley Levison, a
Communist Party member, though he had claimed he had broken ties with him (Greenberg,
White, Sitrin, & Gerstein, 2019).
Though many of these revelations have only come in the last twenty years
some of this was known much sooner, such as in 1989 when Ralph Abernathy, one
of King’s close associates revealed that King spent the night before his murder
with his mistress (Greenberg, White, Sitrin, & Gerstein, 2019). Though
Martin Luther King Jr. clearly had some serious faults, these faults should be
considered in light of all he accomplished for racial justice, unity, non-violence,
and race relations in the United States in his life.
The
Speeches, Letters, and Sermons of Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr’s
brilliance was of course largely found in his organizing and action to fight
against the evils of segregation and prejudice. He was able to mobilize a huge
movement to overturn unjust laws on the local, state, and federal level. But
behind that power of organizing and action was the incredible power of King’s
spoken and written word. King spoke in a
way that inspired others. He spoke moral truth in spiritual terms. He spoke in
terms of justice and injustice. He spoke in terms of hopes, dreams, equality,
and unity. Let us consider some of his
famous and not-so-famous messages, and how they poured forth a fundamentally
Christian message that helped change the world.
King managed to organize, empower, and guide the people who gathered
under him, galvanizing a massive movement as they waged a desperate fight for
justice.
Let’s consider one of his
earliest recorded sermons from a message he gave at Dexter Avenue Baptist
Church titled “Loving Your Enemies.” King spoke of the command of Jesus to love
our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. King (1957) said, “…far from
being an impractical idealist, Jesus has become the practical realist. The
words of this text glitter in our eyes with a new urgency. Far from being the
pious injunction of a utopian dreamer, this command is an absolute necessity
for the survival of our civilization. Yes, it is love that will save our world
and our civilization, love even for enemies.”
King managed to
breathlessly take a biblical truth of loving enemies, and helped his people
understand that this command must apply practically to the real world. But King then indicates that the first step
in loving one’s enemies is looking inwardly, through self-examination. He said
we must then look at the person who hates us, and try to see the good in them,
because some good exists in everyone. He said you should see the “Image of God”
in that person, and you can love them despite their own hatred for you. King
says then you will inevitably be faced with a situation where you will have an
opportunity to defeat that person. But you must not do it. You must not defeat
them. You must let them win. King (1957)
continues by indicating, “That is the meaning of love. In the final analysis,
love is not this sentimental something that we talk about. It’s not merely an
emotional something. Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men. It
is the refusal to defeat any individual. When you rise to the level of love, of
its great beauty and power, you seek only to defeat evil systems. Individuals
who happen to be caught up in that system, you love, but you seek to defeat the
system.”
In this message we see
the incredibly brilliant yet paradoxical way in which King achieved victory
where so many had been defeated. King’s ethic of love was so incredibly
powerful it overcame hatred by being overcome by it. Rosa Parks simply sat in
her place and refused to move. She hated
none of them. She wasn’t rude. She didn’t throw bricks or burn down city
blocks. She loved her enemies and simply
fought through dogged determined love.
It was the same at the segregated kitchens, where activists simply sat,
and refused to leave. They weren’t rude,
they didn’t riot or destroy, they politely sat and refused to be moved. They were beaten, had drinks thrown on them,
they were spit on, and slapped, but they refused to strike back. Looking from the outside, it looked like
defeat. But actually, in the love of Christ, it was victory. Their dogged, dignified, loving resilience
was so powerful a public display of love surrendered to hatred, that hatred
died out, and love replaced it. Defeat
became victory. Laws were changed.
Hearts were changed. Segregation was defeated, and people’s hearts were changed
to see people of color as equals, as brothers and sisters in Christ. All of this came about due to this radical
idea of love by Martin Luther King Jr.
He fought the system but loved the person.
Next, we consider the
1963 letter that King wrote from the Birmingham Jail. King wrote a rousing
letter to the clergy of the area that would live on in history. He wrote that he had come to the area as a
prophet does to declare “thus saith the Lord” and that he had come like the
Apostle Paul came, to spread the good news of freedom (King, 1963, p. 13). He had come from Altanta to Birmingham
because, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King 1963, p.
14). The pastors of Birmingham were upset and had written a public statement
decrying the protests in the area. But
King wrote to them in response to that, “It is unfortunate that demonstrations
are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city's
white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative” (King,
1963, p. 14). Birmingham at that time in history was regarded as the single
most segregated city in the entire country. There were regular bombings of
black churches and homes. Negotiations with the city had led to little change.
So King believed only non-violent protest could bring about real change.
In the letter King called
the church leaders to rally their congregations to be salt and light to the
world around them.
He wrote, “There was a
time when the church was very powerful --in the time when the early Christians
rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days
the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles
of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.
Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became
disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being
"disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators." But the
Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of
heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were
big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically
intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such
ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests.”
In a time when the church
had fallen away from the radical approaches of the Reformation era and into
general concord with modernism and patriotic society, King once again called
the church to remember who they were, not ones to be folded into modernity, but
those to stand against injustice and transform society from within. He knew how
much the church had grown to dislike any criticism, and how quickly the church
would fold to outside influences, and instead King challenges the church to
stand firm in the face of criticism and public backlash to end injustice, just
like they had ended child sacrifice, and gladiatorial death matches.
We would be remised if we
did not consider the incredible world-shaking message King gave in front of the
Lincoln Memorial in 1963, famously known as the “I Have a Dream” Speech. King
(1963) said, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow
we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree
came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been
seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to
end the long night of their captivity..But one hundred years later, the Negro
still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still
sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.”
King powerfully portrayed the history of slavery and how those chains were
symbolically broken by Lincoln with the Emancipation Proclamation, but
nevertheless people of color were still shackled by segregation. He painted the picture of a people still
caught up in exile, as if they were a people freed from Egypt but only
condemned to wander in the wilderness, just as Israel once did. King spoke in biblical terms, but in clear
reference to history and present conditions, inspiring the people around him to
see deeper themes in the world around them.
King indicated in his speech to the nation, that there would not be
tranquility or rest in the United States until all people in the country had
been granted their rights as citizens (King, 1963). He challenged the system and clearly tells
the country that they will not be pushed aside from this struggle.
But then King addresses
his own people, declaring the highest standard for the movement he leads,
stating, “But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the
warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of
gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not
seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness
and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity
and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into
physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of
meeting physical force with soul force.”
This goes to the
incredible genius of King. He knew there was a reasonable danger that the
movement he led could degenerate into violence, riots, and destruction. There
was much legitimate anger and rage out there for the systems and people who
were oppressing his people. Yet he calls
his people to a higher standard, the standard of loving their enemies while
stoically standing up to the system, refusing to be moved. He called his people to fight not with
destruction but with dignity, drinking heartily from the cup of bitterness,
that same cup that Jesus drank from when was crucified. And like Jesus, King
knew they would paradoxically win the victory from defeat.
King (1963) continued, “The
marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us
to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced
by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied
up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is
inextricably bound to our freedom.” He knew there was a danger that people of
color could begin to consider all white people as evil, racist, and suspect.
But he urged against such a response, urging instead for his people to unite
with whites in brotherhood and love.
King knew that many of
the people at the rally that day had endured years of oppression, and years of
peaceful protest and non-violence that had yielded little fruit. Yet King saw
great hope, where many others would’ve only found despair and
hopelessness. He said, “Let us not
wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even
though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, 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."”
In the post-modern era
many seek to fight injustice by tearing down the entire system, and replacing
it with something else. Many fight the
system by seeking to destroy it completely.
King did not fight in such a way.
He saw great hope for people of color in the American dream. He saw hope in the original creed of the
country, that all men are created equal. He saw a day when white men of
Georgia, and the children of freed slaves would sit down together in
brotherhood (King, 1963, p. 25). King
saw a day when Mississippi would be a place of freedom and equality. He saw hope for a country unified in
diversity (King, 1963).
King (1963) said, “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.” He dreamed of a time when people would not be obsessed with skin color
but would be more concerned with the individual and their character. He called
his people to hope and faith. Faith that
God would guide them to win the battle against prejudice and segregation.
King (1963) said, “With
this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of
hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of
our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will
be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail
together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one
day.”
King painted a picture of
hope, faith, and love in the hearts of his people. He didn’t speak about how terrible whiteness
was. He spoke of hope, of brotherhood,
and of faith working itself out through action against injustice, and the
trusting knowledge that unity would win the day.
In conclusion, King
(1963) said, “And when this happens, when we allow freedom to 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 the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at
last! God Almighty, we are free at last!”
He knew that all the
divisions within the society needed to be replaced with a brotherhood of love
and unity. He saw that when blacks or Jews or Catholics or Protestants weren’t
free, it meant no one was free. But he saw the day when the country would be
united, and all would gather together to declare freedom at last. King mobilized the English language and sent
it into battle, just like men and women before him had done, who needed to
galvanize and strengthen a movement toward acts of creative justice done in
love. King and his followers drank repeatedly from the bitter cup of
injustice’s wrath, and paradoxically as a result, they won the day, ending
segregation, and enshrining in law equal rights for people of color in the
country. And they inspired millions of
whites to begin to see people of color as equals, as brothers and sisters in
common cause for liberty and justice.
In King’s last message in
1968 at a Memphis church, he wrote, “Well, I don't know what will happen now.
We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because
I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to
live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that
now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the
mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get
there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get
to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything.
I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the
Lord.”
King seemed to
prophetically see his own end was coming soon.
He perceived the future that one day his people would be truly free. But
he knew he would never see it. He knew his time was quickly coming to an
end. But he saw the glory of the
Lord. He saw hope in the future. And he taught the dream of hope to his people,
through the power of his spoken word.
And fundamentally, King spoke a Christian message. The message he spoke
was deeply rooted in biblical Christian fundamentals like self-sacrificial
love, non-violence, resistance to evil, and victory through seeming defeat. But
more importantly King put that Christian message into practical action. He managed to translation the Christian truth
of Jesus Christ into real action in the world.
And this translation of biblical truth into the modern era managed to
change the country and change the world. He brought justice through painting
biblical truth into the real world, through his words and his actions,
replicated in his followers. And through
love’s defeat, paradoxically, defeat turned into victory because of God’s hand
in those events.
References
Greenberg, D.,
White, J. B., Sitrin, S. S., & Gerstein, B. M. (2019, June 04). How to Make
Sense of the Shocking New MLK Documents. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/06/04/how-to-make-sense-of-the-shocking-new-mlk-documents-227042
King, M. L., Jr.
(n.d.). Dr. King's Last Sermon. Retrieved November 17, 2020, from
https://www.ucc.org/sacred-conversation_dr-kings-last-sermon
King, M. L., Jr.
(1957-1968). Eleven Speeches by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Retrieved
November 18, 2020, from http://wmasd.ss7.sharpschool.com/common/pages/UserFile.aspx?fileId=8373388
King, M. L., Jr.
(2018, April 04). "I've Been to the Mountaintop". Retrieved November
17, 2020, from
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/ive-been-mountaintop
Lewis, D. L.,
& Carson, C. (2020, July 27). Martin Luther King, Jr. Retrieved November
18, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Luther-King-Jr
Martin Luther King
Jr. (2020, October 29). Retrieved November 17, 2020, from
https://www.biography.com/activist/martin-luther-king-jr
