Sunday, January 03, 2010, 9:00 AM
FOR ALL STUDENTS NATIONWIDE - WORLDWIDE
RALEIGH, NC
It was December, 1955, and Martin Luther King, Jr. had just received his doctorate degree in
theology. He had moved to Montgomery, Alabama to preach at a Baptist church. He saw there,
as in many other southern states, that African-Americans had to ride in the back of public
buses. Dr. King knew that this law violated the rights of every African-American. He organized
and led a boycott of the public buses in the city of Montgomery. Any person, black or white,
who was against segregation refused to use public transportation. Those people who boycotted
were threatened or attacked by other people, or even arrested or jailed by the police. After 382
Days of boycotting the bus system, the Supreme Court declared that the Alabama state
segregation law was unconstitutional.
African-Americans were not only segregated on buses throughout the south. Equal housing was
denied to them, and seating in many hotels and restaurants was refused.
In 1957, Dr. King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and moved back to
his home town of Atlanta, Georgia. This was the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. In the
years following, he continued to organize non-violent protests against unequal treatment of
African-American people. His philosophy remained peaceful, and he constantly reminded his
followers that their fight would be victorious if they did not resort to bloodshed. Nonetheless, he
and his demonstrators were often threatened and attacked. Demonstrations which began
peacefully often ended up in violence, and he and many others were often arrested.
On August 28, 1963, a crowd of more than 250,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C. and
marched to the Capitol Building to support the passing of laws that guaranteed every American
equal civil rights. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was at the front of the "March on Washington."
On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that day, Dr. King delivered a speech that was later
entitled "I Have a Dream." The March was one of the largest gatherings of black and white
people that the nation's capital had ever seen... and no violence occurred.
One year later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. It was not the first law of civil rights
for Americans, but it was the most thorough and effective. The act guaranteed equal rights in
housing, public facilities, voting and public schools. Everyone would have impartial hearings and
jury trials. A civil rights commission would ensure that these laws were enforced. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. and thousands of others now knew that they had not struggled in vain. In the
same year Dr. King won the Nobel Peace Prize for leading non-violent demonstrations.
Dr. King didn't let defeats turn him around; he didn't let jail turn him around; he didn't let police dogs turn him around; he didn't let cynical
politicians turn him around; he didn't even let death threats turn him around.
Today, as we celebrate, we should remember something else about Dr. King that may be more important: he did not let victory turn him around either.
When he won the Nobel Prize, he did not retire from the struggle. When the Civil Rights Act was passed, he was not deluded into thinking racism had
been vanquished. When the Voting Rights Act was passed, he did not fool himself that the promise of democracy had been realized for everyone.
This is why Dr. King's holiday is needed, and why it is about more than civil rights. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights leader, of course, but he
was always more than that. He was our prophet of inter-racial brotherhood and sisterhood, our prophet of economic justice, our prophet of
nonviolence.
We still face the adversities of a world in which race hatred leads to lynchings and wars, where our economic institutions and structures do not meet the
needs of our entire society, where domestic violence homicides are increasing in frequency, where too many people and nations use weapons instead of
words to resolve their conflicts. So we are grateful that on at least one day a year, we can pause in our regular routines to remember a man who held
out hope for a better way, and gave his life to achieve it. And on that day, on the third Monday of January, we can each re-dedicate ourselves to do
our part, and not to let anybody turn us around.
In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while he was leading a workers' strike in
Memphis, Tennessee. White people and black people who had worked so hard for peace and
civil rights were shocked and angry. The world grieved the loss of this man of peace.
In recognition of Dr. King's contributions and ultimate sacrifice on January 18, 1986 the Congress of The United States passed Public Law 98-144
declaring the birthday of Dr. King to become a national holiday, to be celebrated on the third Monday of each January.