Dr. King a real hero for peace and true dignity

Among the people through the years who have championed the cause of peace, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stands tall and remains the only such person to have a national holiday named for him. Most national holidays recognizing individuals honor either war heroes or public-office holders. Dr. Martin Luther King Day recognizes a hero for peace. He was once a quiet, 26-year-old pastor for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., when Rosa Parks refused to stand up for a white passenger on board a municipal bus and was arrested. Dr. King organized a successful 382-day boycott of the bus system, which brought him to the national struggle for civil rights for all Americans. During the course of his battle for racial desegregation Dr. King was arrested 20 times, stabbed and assaulted and his house was fire-bombed. In 1963 he led a march to Birmingham, Ala., facing down police dogs and firehoses, and was arrested. That arrest led to his writing of “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” which became a national declaration for a non-violent revolution based on Christian ideals. Three months after that, King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered in Washington D.C., electrified the civil rights movement. In 1964 Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize and followed that with a 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery and the Mississippi march in 1966. Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference also galvanized the Midwest, with a fight for fair housing rights in Chicago, and he also began speaking out against the Vietnam War. He died when shot on the balcony of a Memphis, Tenn. motel in 1968, dismaying many in the movement yet continuing to inspire generations with his drive and determination. America has produced a number of heroes for peace, from Jane Addams (who chaired the Women’s Peace Party in 1915) to Dick Gregory (who ran for president in 1968 with the Peace and Freedom Party). However, Dr. King ranks with Gandhi as a hero for peace on a worldwide scale, standing up for the message that radical social change can be achieved through peaceful means. Gandhi battled against the caste system in India and was jailed a number of times before his 1948 assassination. Both men died for their beliefs, providing followers with a positive example for achievement for the common good. Dr. King’s dream of a society where all people are judged on their own merits has yet to be achieved. However, as more people come to the realization of the truth of Dr. King’s message, the closer that day comes when the sons and daughters of all people can stand together as fellow human beings, each deserving of respect. The goal is one which can only be achieved by a constant attention to lapses and reinforcement of the word. We encourage the public to attend the programs offered Monday, designed to both honor the memory of Dr. King and to keep the dream alive.

L’Observateur