King at 81

King at 81

http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/ndigo-chit-chat-all-that/2010/01/king-at-81.html

Hermene Hartman
01.10.10

Today, January 15 is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's birthday. Had he
lived, he would have been a senior citizen of 81 years old. He
died at 39 years old. His name and life has come to represent
justice. He was the father of the modern day civil rights
movement. He was a young minister on a mission when he was summons
by a bus boycott in Birmingham Alabama. A seamstress by the name of
Rosa Parks had been arrested because she would not give up her seat
on the front of the bus. On December 1, 1955 a movement begin. Dr.
King was introduced to the world. Segregation was on notice. King
brought social change to America.

In retrospect, King ended America's apartheid. His first victory was
385 days long and resulted in the end of segregation. King's house
was bombed and it was the beginning of his 13 arrests.

He formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 with
The Reverend Ralph Abernathy and others. They launched non violent
protests throughout the south. Among the methods used to challenge
the segregated system was sit-ins, boycotts and freedom
rides. King's base was The Black Church. King was a dynamic
speaker, one of the greatest orators America has produced. To hear
his deep baritone voice was to hear conviction and pure power
of moral authority and audacity. His platform was the pulpuit
of the Black church. His movement was with college students who
were jailed for protesting. He spoke with moral authority and
challenged America to live up to its Constitution. Indeed he spoke
truth to power. In doing so he was often threatened, his house
bombed, and eventually he was killed for his beliefs.

The King voice was regal. He was authentic and an elegant
speaker. His non violence methods were patterned after Gandhi. His
most famous speech, "I Have a Dream" was delivered in 1963 in
Washington D.C. on the March on Washington. The speech was an
outright challenge to The American Government on jobs and
freedom. He was a prolific writer. One of his most powerful essay
is "The Letter From the Birmingham Jail" which was written on scraps
of paper and was an appeal to the clergy to join him in his position
for his righteous cause and explaining why he was in jail.

King earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his non violence
apprach. He is the youngest person ever to have received the
award. By this time he was recognized globally for his efforts.

King in Chicago

In 1966, King brought the Civil Rights movement to the North. Chicago
was the city of choice.
He moved on Chicago's west side and was invited by the late Al Raby,
who headed the coalition, Coordinating Council of Community
Organizations (CCCO) to protest the Willis Wagons (trailer
classrooms) sponsored by Chicgo Public Schools. King came to
Chicago with protest and met oposition from Daley and the black six
alderman and some local ministers. He eventually won open housing in
the city and ceased the Willis Wagons.

King said that the demonstrations in Marquette Park on Chicago's
south side was the worse of his career. He was hit in the head with
a rock on this march, and the Rev. Andy Young's car was
burned. The demonstrations in Gage Park and Marquette Park turned
into riots and the late Mayor Daley was embarassed. The city that
worked was not working and the racism of the north was shown on
national TV. It was during this time, that King met a young seminary
student in Chicago. He was the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson. King assigned
Jackson to start, a department within SCLC, Operation Breadbasket.

In 1965 King opposed the Vietnam War on moral grounds. In a speech
at New York's Riverside Church on April 4, 1967 he opposed the war on
moral grounds. He was publically scolded by his peers. In essence,
he was told he shouldn't address international affairs.
He didn't back down and eventually others joined his leadership to
establish the Peace Movement, including Senator Bobby Kennedy.

At the time of his death, 1968, King was working to organiae the
Poor People's Campaign which was a live in efforts in Washington
comprised of America's rainbow poor to address economic justice.

He was assassinated in Memphis Tennessee on April 4, 1968 while
addressing a strike of garbage men. He died at the age of 39 year
old. He was survived by his parents, a brother, his wife and three
children.

King was one of the most important men in this century. He spoke to
America's wrongs. His voice rung from the pulpuit and he wanted to
be known as a "Baptist preacher." His leadership knows no peer. He
never had a proper budget. He never held elected political
office. He changed America with his voice, his message, ,his nonviolent way.

His life is demonstration of one man making a difference.

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