I have been hearing news coverage of the recent discussion in social and political circles about the real legacy of Martin Luther King. This began even before the MLK holiday.
Whatever the reason for these many allusions to Martin Luther King's importance to America or effects on American Civil Rights, I heard the discussions sadly lacking the elemental importance of MLK's work.
Martin Luther King was absolutely feared by many whites as a trouble maker. I am white and I can tell you at the time many Americans did not know about or understand the Civil Rights movement. Most Americans did not understand Viet Nam or racial inequality either. Most Americans just heard bits and pieces in the news and then rumors passed from acquaintance to acquaintance.
But Americans also knew very little about groups like the Zulu 1200, Blackstone Rangers, Black Panthers - or men like Malcolm X, Bobby Seale or numerous others from more militant Muslim influenced groups.
What Americans could have understood, and should absolutely know by now, is that Martin Luther King was a Christian leader of a movement to right many wrongs here in the USA. He was the man least to be feared in his movement, and most to be respected. I am not saying he was without sin. I am saying he was a man trying to change a large and potentially dangerous system with the words and actions of a Christian.
Emphasis must be added here on the word "action." He acted as a Christian, not just talked about it.
Martin Luther King gave his movement the right leader, one who could be respected for all of his virtues and righteousness. People have argued that it took Malcolm and Bobby to wake up the government to respond to a "lesser of evils" in MLK. I can't argue against that because it seems to have taken decades so far and the movement still has things to accomplish for both opportunity and responsibility in race issues.
Recently Hilary Clinton mentioned that it took President Lyndon Baines Johnson's support and signatures to enact civil rights legislation that began to address America's race problems. That statement may be true, but it is really not cognizant of the commitment and sacrifices made by King in his words and actions for the movement. Despite near constant death threats from many quarters King persisted in his righteous cause as a real Christian, until his assassination.
Lincoln, Kennedy, King all shot to death. It may be true that Johnson changed history in some way, but more as signatory than an activist and leader. I believe to some extent the fears that were muttered at the time that Johnson could also be assassinated. During the Viet Nam years many political powers were deep at work in this country and in this world.
Johnson survived to grow his hair long and speak of his regrets about the war in Viet Nam. He summed up the problems of prejudice as a matter of ignorance and he named education as the single most important factor in creating and maintaining a strong nation and culture. To his credit these statements supported most of the legitimate protesting of the era, albeit made in hindsight rather than during the demonstrations by millions of citizens.
Martin Luther King knew he would eventually be assaulted, having been attacked regularly by counter-demonstrators and authorities in some locales - possibly be killed. Yet he continued to lead as the focal point of a Christian conscience. Whites and blacks who supported him were also attacked. When the federal government began to respond slowly in assisting the movement against racial inequality it was seen by many as some sort of concession to a threat against whites.
Again Martin Luther King was the last good voice in a rapidly deteriorating situation. Martin Luther King discouraged violence and wrong-doing among blacks at a time when talk of a possible race war passed in and out of anxious conversations. And as devastating as a race war would have been to all the people of America at the time, it would have continued to curse this nation far beyond today, just as the Civil War tore deep into this nation's morale and psyche.
The best thing to remember about Martin Luther King was that he did the right thing time and again. When others were plotting, hostile, violent and destructive he brought the spirit of Christ to the situation. Even if you are not a Christian you must recognize the grace of his message and the goodness of his acts in the horrible social context of the day. It is a shame that a man like this was killed for his work and his message.
Martin Luther King offered America a choice between good and evil, not just a vote for a politician. Martin Luther King provided an example so strong that people must grow into an understanding of it.
Arthur Browning
Abstract Paintings
Bannister Nonobjective Painting
About the author: Arthur Browning began his career teaching technical writing in a small mid-western university for 15 years. He later edited and published a national professional journal for some ten years. He is now an investor. His interests include art collecting, web marketing, art writing.
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