#BTColumn – In celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

The impact and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is global. Many of us outside of the United States of America continue to admire this iconic civil rights freedom fighter and have drawn inspiration from his enduring legacy. Dr. King’s reach transcends race and therefore his legacy is that more sustaining. We often quote Dr. King in moments when our rights are being trampled on. 

Sadly, in today’s world, those who wish to deny us our rights are often of our own race and socialisation. Regrettably, those individuals oftentimes used their positions to belittle, emasculate, and disrespect others. The life and sacrifices of Dr. King are worthwhile contributions to the annals of humanity. The fact that he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 speaks volumes about the international respect he commands.  

Martin Luther King Jr. was a social activist and Baptist minister who played a key role in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. King sought equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged, and all victims of injustice through peaceful protest. He was the driving force behind watershed events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington, which helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. 

The campaign for a federal holiday in King’s honour began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later, on January 20, 1986. It was not until 2000 that every state in the Union observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the second child of Martin Luther King Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolteacher. King attended segregated public schools and at the age of 15 was admitted to Morehouse College, the alma mater of both his father and maternal grandfather. 

After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his predominantly white senior class. King then enrolled in a graduate program at Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning a doctorate in systematic theology two years later. 

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960, King and his family moved to Atlanta, his native city, where he joined his father as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. President Joe Biden made history Sunday by becoming the first sitting president to deliver a sermon at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. 

King’s philosophy of nonviolence was put to a particularly severe test during the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest segregation, unfair hiring practices and other injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities. Arrested for his involvement on April 12, King penned the civil rights manifesto, known as the Letter from Birmingham Jail, an eloquent defence of civil disobedience addressed to a group of white clergymen who had criticised his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther King Jr. worked with a number of civil rights and religious groups to organise the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful political rally designed to shed light on the injustices Black Americans continued to face across the country. The march on Washington was held on August 28, 1963 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants; the event is widely regarded as a watershed moment in the history of the American civil rights movement and a factor in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It is important to note that Dr. King delivered his iconic I Have a Dream speech at this momentous event.   

 Federal Holiday

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year. Born in 1929, King’s actual birthday is January 15. King was the first modern private citizen to be honoured with a federal holiday, and for many familiar with his non-violent leadership of the civil rights movement, it made sense to celebrate him. Of course, there are those with racist agendas who fought the bill from becoming law. The legislation to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first introduced just four days after his assassination on April 4, 1968. Still, it would take 15 years of persistence by civil rights activists for the holiday to be approved by the federal government and an additional 17 years for it to be recognized in all 50 states. Today, it is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer and improve their communities. The world is indeed a better place because of the life, work, and sacrifice of Dr. King. 

In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “The time is always right to do what is right.” 

Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues.