Some time has passed since I first opened an American History book and read about the Civil Rights Movement and the impact one particular man, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., had during that tumultuous time. The story behind a group of African Americans refusing to ride a bus because they were not allowed to sit were they pleased. Or not allowed to sit down in a section of a lunch counter designated "whites only" while being attacked by the Caucasian patrons and employees. Or marching, peacefully, hand in hand and being confronted by armed police barricades, police dogs and water hoses. I must admit, such conflict was confusing to me. The child in me was foreign to concepts of free speech, civil rights and human dignity.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was born Michael King, Jr., on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. "In 1934, his father, a pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, traveled to Germany and became inspired by the Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther. As a result, King, Sr., changed his own name as well as that of his 5 year old son."-History.com
Dr. King is now well known throughout the world as a powerful speaker of great spiritual strength. An activist. A Civil Rights Figure. And a Clergyman. Throughout his academic studies in Morehouse College (1948), he was introduced to the work of men like Mahatma Ghandi. MLK also excelled at Crozer Theological Seminary and earned a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology in 1955 from Boston College. I am sure this academic and religious background helped him adopt and embrace the stance of peaceful social change through non-violent means which was popularly coined "civil disobedience".
MLK was instrumental in the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56, which was inspired by the arrest of Rosa Parks when she refused to give up her seat to a Caucasian man on a public bus. Racial segregation on city buses was ruled unconstitutional in 1956. The Boycott was successful and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., became a national hero.
On the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1963, Dr. King organized a march on Washington, D.C. which drew 200,000 Americans of all ethnicities and backgrounds. The gardens in front of Washington D.C.'s Lincoln Memorial transformed into a sea of humanity demanding rights for minorities. It became the immortal and magical place where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his now famous "I Have a Dream" speech. A place where, if only for a moment, we all came together as a nation.
Among Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s many accomplishments are the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize (becoming the youngest recipient at the time) and author of many writings including: Stride .Toward Freedom (1958), Why We Can't Wait (1969) and Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community (1967). Tragically, as is the case with so many seekers of peace, his tenure on this earth was cut short on April 4, 1968 by an assassin's bullet. He was just 39 years old. A Pastor. A husband and a father. A great loss to us as a nation. Proof of the damage that unchecked hate can cause.
As a Latina woman, a minority twice over, I am more than grateful to Dr. King and the countless brave men and women, of different races, who fought the good fight during the late 1950's and 1960's. I was just a child when Dr. King was taken from us. But due to his tireless tenacious work, selfless sacrifice and continued progress by the Civil Rights Movement; all Latinos are beneficiaries of that struggle. Desegregation and equality laws protect people who look and speak like me. And gives everyone a chance for a better life.
I feel very proud that there is such a day as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; celebrating such an impressive and courageous man.
All I can humbly say is, I can feel the impact your life has in my life everyday. Thank you!!!
